At the cost of my other AARs its taken a while to get back in to WitP AE mode and tackle this beast. The first attempt took 25-30 hours of setting up and testing, finally happily with the turn i realised i couldnt send it as id set it up as an AI game and not a PBEM game, the second attempt was a mere 10 hours, now familiar with the UI again and already knowing what was going where it wasnt so bad.
Firstly, historic Dec 7th is off, theres a lot of things i like to do different which means planning the entirety of Dec 7th from Pearl Harbour in the east, to Singapore in the west. Pros, you get to change the strategy, tweak things, move different units here and there, cons Pearl might be a disaster, one time, a long time ago it never even happened in a PBEM due to excess cloud cover on the day! :o
Imagine my surprise when the first combat of Dec 7th was a Brit naval attack off Hong Kong - yes, Britain started the War in the Pacific, the poor old Japanese hadnt done a thing wrong
Realistic Research is also switched off as it allows me to change the upgrade paths of a few air frames, this isnt Command and Conquer, i dont have factories making fictional and endless airplanes - i have to deal with the real OOB as was and i would like to be able to steer research toward some better aircraft. Player Defined Upgrades are also switched on, similar thing, it allows me to change the direction of some research and point factories toward another airframe - i dont want to replay the historic events of '41-'45 - i can watch a documentary for that, besides which i think i can do better than Nagumo and Yamamoto, so lets see!
The strategy of my opening turn then will be to bomb Pearl from the west as opposed to the north just incase theres any of those US CVs floating around, take the traditional islands to the west, Makin, Tarawa etc. Take Wake with a bigger force than historically and build it up some, maybe plan for taking Midway and begin to worry KyzBP. Depending on the strength of the Pearl attack ill either stick around for a second day, or head off to Wake and support the landing there.
On the Home Islands and Saigon, 6 divisions are loaded and ready to sail south to the tip of the Phillipines and meet up at an island base called Badelbaob. From here the divisions will move west taking Borneo, and Java and capturing the oilfields as soon as possible, once thats done theyll reform around Feb/Mar 1942 and either head for Australia of India, havent decided yet.
To the west there will be the traditional landing at Khota Bharu, north of Singapore but it will be highly overpowered to capture the base and airfield and build the airfield up to sustain sweeps over Singapore, then move inland to cut the peninsula in two before allied support can be sent to strengthen Singapore. On day 2 there will be a massive landing of over 150 ships at Mersing, just north of Singapore to stop any other allies heading south and to provide another airbase to bomb Singapore. This is called the Mersing Gambit amongst the regulars of the WitP forum, and can be done on day 1 but its considered gamey on day 1 as you would have sailed passed so many Allied eyes that you would have been seen and intercepted - something that cant be recreated on a Dec 7th start in the game, so its off as i dont think its fair, day 2 is all good though. My biggest concern with this whole venture is a weak Pearl attack and a troublesome Force Z. Force Z consisted of the battleship Prince of Wales and battlecruiser Repulse and accompanying destroyers, it traditionally sails (if KyzBP doesnt move it) just off the coast of Mersing and then is pummelled by Japanese torpedo bombers from Saigon - if the bombers dont make it, miss, or Force Z simply survives the encounter i have an awfully powerful force within 80km of the majority of my forces needed to take Singapore. With this in mind my battleship force is sent to rendezvous in the same hex as the mersing invasion force to provide air cover and to protect them from Force Z - fingers crossed.
A small base in the corner of Borneo called Singkawang will also be taken, this is the staging point for me to take Palembang - the largest oil reserve and oil supplier in the game, this is what the Japanese went to war for and i need it as soon as possible. Singkawang wil be taken, manned with fighters to provide CAP over the Mersing fleet and CAP for the Palembang invasion force which will immediately take the base and then get back on the boats and head there.
There will be no landings to the north of the Phillipines, there will be a mass bomber raid on the port of Manilla to try and sink as many subs as possible and then it will be left until Singapore has fallen, its essentially an island prison, it cant be reinforced, it cant be abandoned, i will take it when im ready. I will however take a base to the far south called Cagayan, it has a good airfield and port and allows me to move bombers here to cover all evacuations from Manilla, the Phillipines and Borneo and cover my own ingoing invasions into Borneo. My third major concern is a ship that sails around this area called the US Boise, its a monster, can take down invasion fleets all on its own and has many threads dedicated to it on the WitP forum, if i can catch this with the mini KB then ill be happy, if i miss and it sees the invasion on turn 2 it can very well reach Cagayan and make a terrible mess there.
Ill not bore you with the tale of what factories have been changed to what, what airframes are been built and what transport task forces are carrying how much oil where, if im teaching you to suck eggs and you know about Force Z and the KB then let me know, if you want to know about the KB also let me know - the turn is in and ill show the results later
Not at all, I had no idea the Boise == Godzilla! :coolsmiley: Like many people I'm ignorant of the long-established quirks of this game, despite not only owning the original and the admiral's edition, but also War Plan Orange (which is the only one I've even slightly played, btw.)
While I agree there isn't any point to talk about which task forces are carrying oil where (unless maybe you set up an important route that needs defense or is especially important, but you could wait until it comes under attack), I'm curious about the general direction you're planning to take to improve airframes better than historical (and why).
That sounds like an awful lot of coordinating going on there for Nippon. My brain aches at the thought of managing it all in that game. Has it been made any easier since the original?
Quote from: Sir Slash on June 21, 2015, 09:59:55 PM
That sounds like an awful lot of coordinating going on there for Nippon. My brain aches at the thought of managing it all in that game. Has it been made any easier since the original?
They made it WORSE! More details to fuss about.
Quote from: Sir Slash on June 21, 2015, 09:59:55 PM
That sounds like an awful lot of coordinating going on there for Nippon. My brain aches at the thought of managing it all in that game. Has it been made any easier since the original?
weeeeeeelllllllllllll, it depends on how you look at it, theres more of everything, but if youre a logisitcs nut, an OCD supply weirdo then its awesome
Ok, some pics so that theres a face to the names of the main areas of operations
Malaya
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2F33Do5VJ.jpg&hash=75d4abfb508fbaf0165bb8b326016491f46802f2)
The Phillipines
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FjfV4cTy.jpg&hash=84d444813b8ca045fba6500455c2b35de4decac4)
Hawaii
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FO6f7FzK.jpg&hash=6fce721d816e4810cdccc0efffcc5442467961b4)
The Home Islands
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2Fr5T3fSq.jpg&hash=45ee99885e320e3c73ce5ed8a8e689707a99a20e)
Quote from: JasonPratt on June 21, 2015, 10:01:23 AM
While I agree there isn't any point to talk about which task forces are carrying oil where (unless maybe you set up an important route that needs defense or is especially important, but you could wait until it comes under attack), I'm curious about the general direction you're planning to take to improve airframes better than historical (and why).
At the start of the game the Japanese are building some old heaps of junk, the Nate fighter has already been surpassed by the Oscar fighter but factories are still churning out the Nate - these need converting to the Oscar, all at a supply cost that needs paying paying for, and then of course the engine factories need to switch their production from the Nate engine to the Oscar engine, again at cost, also you need to roughly synchronise the airframes to engine requirements otherwise youre going to end up with 150 oscars and 5 engines for them, or 5 oscars and 150 engines.
The conversion from Claude to the Zero has pretty much been completed in the factories but there are still a lot of old Claudes on flat tops and in bases that need upgrading to the zero. There will be a huge requirement for the Zero so factory output needs practically doubling so some old obsolete plane factories are converted to making the Zero, and other factories change to the zero engine.
You need to pick one main Army bomber and stay with the two Naval bombers - the Nell and the Betty. The army is either, for now, the Lilly or the Helen, i like the Helen much better and factories need to change to this.
Across China are some really old single bomb bombers and obsolete aircraft that no matter what you do simply wont upgrade to a line thats required - these are sent to the far flung reaches of the map, out of harms way and the pilot training programme begins with them. In short im taking all the experienced pilots out of these old buckets that cant be upgraded or cant be reassigned to the front lines of the war and putting them in the reserve list to replace lost qualified pilots where it matters. The now abandoned squadrons will be filled with rookie pilots who can train in the deserts of China or over the quiet seas of Japan and gain enough experience and skill to join the reserve ranks, wash rinse repeat throughout the game
A proven strategy for the further down the lines is to focus on one navy fighter and one army fighter and put all the research into those airframes and try and get them to the production lines early - im still undecided on which one yet, so in the meantime R&D is switched off as it costs supply and ill pick in a day or 2
Across the Home Islands i have increased the repair facilities of a few shipyards, increased the naval workshops of a few other and reduced the merchant workshops of yet others. There will be a need to get wartime ships as soon as possible, but the merchant navy is pretty much big enough now to see me to the end of the game, bar a few extra tankers and oilers so their production is scaled back to save supplies
i think/hope that covers it
A day of infamy
It starts out with something ive never seen before, one of the midget subs launched as the very first attack of the game actually breaks through the nets at Pearl and puts a torpedo in the side of the West Virginia
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FpmHHrj5.jpg&hash=e08d4178d438967090adf8c7fb6a39c74532a1d3)
Then this happens >:( -
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 68
B5N2 Kate x 144
D3A1 Val x 135
Allied aircraft
no flights
Japanese aircraft losses
B5N2 Kate: 2 damaged
B5N2 Kate: 1 destroyed by flak
D3A1 Val: 14 damaged
D3A1 Val: 3 destroyed by flak
Allied aircraft losses
B-17E Fortress: 14 damaged
B-17D Fortress: 36 damaged
B-17D Fortress: 1 destroyed on ground
A-20A Havoc: 20 damaged
A-20A Havoc: 1 destroyed on ground
R3D-2: 2 damaged
PBY-5 Catalina: 127 damaged
PBY-5 Catalina: 6 destroyed on ground
P-40B Warhawk: 16 damaged
P-40B Warhawk: 2 destroyed on ground
P-36A Mohawk: 11 damaged
P-36A Mohawk: 2 destroyed on ground
B-18A Bolo: 31 damaged
B-18A Bolo: 2 destroyed on ground
SBD-1 Dauntless: 28 damaged
SBD-1 Dauntless: 3 destroyed on ground
C-33: 1 damaged
C-33: 1 destroyed on ground
F4F-3 Wildcat: 6 damaged
F4F-3 Wildcat: 1 destroyed on ground
O-47A: 4 damaged
O-47A: 1 destroyed on ground
Allied Ships
CL Honolulu, Torpedo hits 1
BB Arizona, Bomb hits 5, Torpedo hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
BB West Virginia, Bomb hits 6, Torpedo hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
BB California, Bomb hits 6, Torpedo hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
BB Nevada, Bomb hits 3, on fire
BB Oklahoma, Bomb hits 4, Torpedo hits 1, on fire
AM Grebe, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
BB Maryland, Bomb hits 3, Torpedo hits 1, on fire
BB Tennessee, Bomb hits 4, Torpedo hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
CL Raleigh, Bomb hits 1, Torpedo hits 1, on fire
AVD Thornton, Bomb hits 1, on fire
SS Cachalot, Torpedo hits 1, heavy damage
DM Gamble, Bomb hits 1, on fire
BB Pennsylvania, Bomb hits 4, heavy fires
CA San Francisco, Torpedo hits 1
CL Detroit, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
CL St. Louis, Bomb hits 2, on fire
DD Farragut, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
AVD Hulbert, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
DMS Perry, Bomb hits 1, on fire
CL Phoenix, Torpedo hits 1
CA New Orleans, Bomb hits 1, on fire
Dear Lord, the most anaemic of Pearl strikes, no BBs sunk, the Val bombers look to have got in the way of the Kate torpedo bombers as there are far more bomb hits than torps - I will be taking that second day strike - itll be more bloody now that the US knows we are here, but the day 1 casualties on the KBs aircraft are very small so we should be OK
The attack on Manillas port is more promising
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 81
G3M2 Nell x 36
G4M1 Betty x 81
Allied aircraft
P-26A x 4
No Japanese losses
Allied aircraft losses
P-26A: 2 destroyed
Allied Ships
AV Langley, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage
SS Snapper, Bomb hits 3, and is sunk
AO Trinity, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD John D. Ford, Bomb hits 1, on fire
PT-31, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
SS Skipjack, Bomb hits 1
SS Spearfish, Bomb hits 1
SS Salmon, Bomb hits 1
SS Permit, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
xAK Tantalus, Bomb hits 2, on fire
xAP Neptuna, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
SS S-40, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
xAKL Palawan, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
TK Gertrude Kellogg, Bomb hits 1, on fire
xAKL Anakan, Bomb hits 1
xAKL Paz, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
SS Tarpon, Bomb hits 2, heavy damage
DD Pope, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
SS S-38, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
SS S-41, Bomb hits 1, heavy damage
DD Peary, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
xAKL Compagnia Filipinas, Bomb hits 1, on fire
AS Holland, Bomb hits 1, on fire
PG Tulsa, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAP President Madison, Bomb hits 1
AVD Childs, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
SS Porpoise, Bomb hits 1, heavy damage
AS Otus, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
SS Perch, Bomb hits 1, heavy damage
SS Seal, Bomb hits 1, heavy damage
A second smaller wave goes in and hits a few more subs
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 9
Ki-21-IIa Sally x 18
Allied aircraft
no flights
No Japanese losses
Allied aircraft losses
P-40E Warhawk: 3 destroyed
Allied Ships
SS Pickerel, Bomb hits 1
SS Stingray, Bomb hits 1
SS Seadragon, Bomb hits 1
AO Pecos, Bomb hits 1
xAK Ethel Edwards, Bomb hits 1, on fire
AM Whippoorwill, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
SS Sealion, Bomb hits 1
SS Tarpon, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
xAKL Compagnia Filipinas, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
SS Sailfish, Bomb hits 1
xAK Tantalus, Bomb hits 1, on fire
KyzBP diverts Force Z and heads up the west of the peninsula instead, torpedo bombers still find him but the Prince of Wales escapes, for now
Morning Air attack on TF, near Kuala Lumpur at 48,79
Weather in hex: Clear sky
Raid spotted at 30 NM, estimated altitude 17,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 10 minutes
Japanese aircraft
G4M1 Betty x 27
Japanese aircraft losses
G4M1 Betty: 4 damaged
G4M1 Betty: 1 destroyed by flak
Allied Ships
BB Prince of Wales
BC Repulse, Torpedo hits 4, on fire, heavy damage
Aircraft Attacking:
27 x G4M1 Betty launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 18in Type 91 Torpedo
The Boise............ doesnt :D
Morning Air attack on TF, near Siquijor at 76,87
Weather in hex: Clear sky
Raid spotted at 3 NM, estimated altitude 8,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 1 minutes
Japanese aircraft
B5N1 Kate x 12
No Japanese losses
Allied Ships
CL Boise, Torpedo hits 3, heavy damage
Aircraft Attacking:
12 x B5N1 Kate launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 18in Type 91 Torpedo
A second attack,
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Siquijor at 76,87
Weather in hex: Clear sky
Raid spotted at 7 NM, estimated altitude 8,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 3 minutes
Japanese aircraft
B5N1 Kate x 15
Allied aircraft
no flights
Japanese aircraft losses
B5N1 Kate: 1 damaged
Allied aircraft losses
SOC-1 Seagull: 1 destroyed
Allied Ships
CL Boise, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk
Aircraft Attacking:
15 x B5N1 Kate launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 18in Type 91 Torpedo
All landings proceed as planned, there is an intense air battle as wave after wave of Allied bombers try and hit the landings at Kuantan and the Mersing Invasion force, in the end 2 ships are hit for the loss of 108 troops - the CAP provided by Patani serves us well, however next turn it wont even be there :'(
Damn, I wish I could live to be 300 so I could play a campaign to completion. Great start UCG. Yamamoto might actually smile.
I have played both WitE and WitP AE and the UI and ability to simplify complex tasks in WitE is a quantum leap over WitP AE.
I wonder if you could take that know-how from WitE and apply it now to WitP AE (which is a derivation from Uncommon Valor a game that is 13 years old).
I would love to get back into WitP AE but I just dont have time to setup all the individual tasks and micromanaging to play any type of campaign.
Con
Quote from: Con on June 22, 2015, 01:14:06 PM
I have played both WitE and WitP AE and the UI and ability to simplify complex tasks in WitE is a quantum leap over WitP AE.
I wonder if you could take that know-how from WitE and apply it now to WitP AE (which is a derivation from Uncommon Valor a game that is 13 years old).
I would love to get back into WitP AE but I just dont have time to setup all the individual tasks and micromanaging to play any type of campaign.
Con
Where's my damn pbem set up turn? :P
Danger I sense thread derailment ahead!
OK I will get a CMBS PBEM game setup turn out to you. PM me if you have any special requests otherwise I will set you up with Russian cooks equipped with pistols on an open plain against a US combined arms task force supported by Apaches. Its all in the point allocations! >:D
Con
Lol, I'll pm you tomorrow - only got phone access at mo
QuoteThe Boise............ doesnt :D
DEATH TO GODZILLA!
Oh my! Here's hoping the second-day strike on Pearl goes a bit better...
yeah, i hope so, ive made a few enquiries, just bad dice really but the 800lb bombs do do a bit of damage so well see
The landings at Kuantan, Singkawang, Manado and Cagayan continue leaving more empty ships on the beaches than there are full ones. Which is good news - Patani, the main airbase covering all the landings on the Malayan peninsular ran out of supplies, this results in not been able to arm the fighters with drop tanks meaning there will be no air cover at all over Kuantan or the 100 ship task force sailing into Mersing :'(
We'll just have to grin and bear it. 2 Allied subs and a destroyer wander into a small minefield i left outside the port of Manilla
We hit the port at Manilla again, fairly happy with the carnage achieved here, the bombers will be sent to outlying bases to try and catch escapees, the fighters will sweep Manilla to whittle down the air defenders
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 69
G3M2 Nell x 46
G4M1 Betty x 37
Allied aircraft
P-40B Warhawk x 17
P-40E Warhawk x 31
Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 2 destroyed
G3M2 Nell: 1 destroyed, 1 damaged
G4M1 Betty: 5 destroyed, 4 damaged
Allied aircraft losses
P-40B Warhawk: 3 destroyed
P-40E Warhawk: 5 destroyed
Allied Ships
SS S-41, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
SS Seal, Bomb hits 2, heavy damage
DD Pope, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
SS Salmon, Bomb hits 1
SS Sealion, Bomb hits 3, heavy damage
xAKL Corregidor, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
AM Whippoorwill, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
AV Langley, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
DD John D. Ford, Bomb hits 2
xAP President Madison, Bomb hits 1
AO Trinity, Bomb hits 2, heavy damage
xAK Capillo, Bomb hits 2, heavy damage
xAKL Bisayas, Bomb hits 2, on fire
SS Salmon, Bomb hits 1, heavy damage
AV Langley, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
DD John D. Ford, Bomb hits 1
SS Sealion, Bomb hits 1, heavy damage
xAP President Madison, Bomb hits 1
AO Trinity, Bomb hits 1, heavy damage
xAK Capillo, Bomb hits 1, heavy damage
xAKL Bisayas, Bomb hits 1, on fire
The second Pearl attack, still not great but it will have to do
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 67
B5N2 Kate x 143
D3A1 Val x 113
Allied aircraft
P-26A x 1
P-36A Mohawk x 28
P-40B Warhawk x 53
F4F-3 Wildcat x 8
SNJ-3 Texan x 2
Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 1 destroyed
B5N2 Kate: 9 destroyed, 12 damaged
D3A1 Val: 4 destroyed, 27 damaged
D3A1 Val: 3 destroyed by flak
Allied aircraft losses
P-36A Mohawk: 2 destroyed
P-36A Mohawk: 1 destroyed on ground
P-40B Warhawk: 6 destroyed, 2 damaged
P-40B Warhawk: 1 destroyed on ground
F4F-3 Wildcat: 1 destroyed
B-18A Bolo: 1 destroyed on ground
Allied Ships
BB Nevada, Bomb hits 3, Torpedo hits 1, heavy fires
DM Breese, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
BB Maryland, Bomb hits 1, on fire
BB Arizona, Bomb hits 1, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk
BB Oklahoma, Bomb hits 3, on fire, heavy damage
BB California, Bomb hits 1, heavy damage
BB Pennsylvania, Bomb hits 1, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
These cheeky boys fly out of Manilla, ive never seen them used in this role before and theyre very effective, well done KyzBP, fortunately the ships are empty
Allied aircraft
PBY-5 Catalina x 2
PBY-4 Catalina x 11
Allied aircraft losses
PBY-4 Catalina: 1 damaged
Japanese Ships
xAK Macassar Maru, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
xAK Yamafuku Maru
xAK Myoko Maru
xAK Teiryu Maru, Torpedo hits 1, heavy damage
xAK Shinryu Maru
Then the air attacks across the peninsular come in with no air cover to prevent them
Allied aircraft
Swordfish I x 3
No Allied losses
Japanese Ships
xAK Kinrei Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
and again
Allied aircraft
Swordfish I x 3
No Allied losses
Japanese Ships
xAKL Korei Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
Allied aircraft
Blenheim IV x 6
Vildebeest III x 8
Allied aircraft losses
Blenheim IV: 1 damaged
Vildebeest III: 1 destroyed by flak
Japanese Ships
xAP Koan Maru
xAK Anzan Maru #2
xAK Yahiko Maru, Bomb hits 4, on fire, heavy damage
xAK Daisin Maru
Will they never end?
Allied aircraft
Swordfish I x 2
No Allied losses
Japanese Ships
xAK Tenzan Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
A laden ship this time
Allied aircraft
Vildebeest III x 10
No Allied losses
Japanese Ships
xAK Hawaii Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires
xAP Husimi Maru, Bomb hits 2, on fire
xAK Aki Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
Japanese ground losses:
53 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 6 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Catalinas again :(
Allied aircraft
PBY-4 Catalina x 6
No Allied losses
Japanese Ships
xAP Haruna Maru, Torpedo hits 1, on fire
DMS W-7
We exact some revenge, a small DD task force heading east out of the southern Phillipines
Japanese aircraft
B5N1 Kate x 16
Japanese aircraft losses
B5N1 Kate: 1 damaged
Allied Ships
DD Pillsbury, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
And catch this submarine tender leaving Manilla
Japanese Ships
SS I-124
Allied Ships
AS Canopus, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
We capture Kuantan, Cagayan and Singkawang without trouble, the attack at Manado is successful but not overwhelming enough to take the base, we will attack again next turn
Malayan Peninsular
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FMSy2Tql.jpg&hash=78641e2b1280ecf604deeef81edab024c53b7745)
Sumatra and Northern Borneo
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FN359i9g.jpg&hash=d5b9233cb7c905855dbe5129f61a4435e66c105e)
Southern Phillipines
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2F53cVHpD.jpg&hash=bd16ebeac224069e9495dcb5c8758e21d3c4a4e8)
Pearl
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FB2IqUWm.jpg&hash=4e20750fe0c2e34eeb2c8e3bfee74a41c3a9fa12)
Possibly the first time ive felt happy with a turn so far
Subs
Just outside Singapore
Japanese Ships
SS I-162
Allied Ships
xAP Dominion Monarch, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
Off the coast of Borneo
Japanese Ships
SS I-166
Allied Ships
CMc Pro Patria, Torpedo hits 1, heavy damage
Shipping
The raiders go to town off the coast of Sumatra and Mindanao
AM Finch, Shell hits 11, and is sunk
AM Bittern, Shell hits 13, and is sunk
AM Tanager, Shell hits 10, and is sunk
AM Quail, Shell hits 14, and is sunk
AM Lark, Shell hits 7, and is sunk
xAP Hong Kheng, Shell hits 23, and is sunk
xAP Sin Kheng Seng, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
xAP Matang, Shell hits 1, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
xAP Kepong, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk
xAK Zannis Cambanis, Shell hits 6, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
AM Ballarat, Shell hits 3, and is sunk
AM Toowoomba, Shell hits 8, and is sunk
PG Herald, Shell hits 26, and is sunk
Summary
Despite KyzBP's best efforts, maybe 25-30 sorties over Malaya and Borneo not one air attack gets through thanks to a proper fighter umbrella now that supplies are in place
Betty and Nell bombers hit and cripple a lot of ships off Mindanao and the Phillipines, a lot of sorties are cancelled due to bad weather. We find Force Z again in the Malacca Straits but the bombers miss due to a decent CAP, bombers will try again next time with escorts provided, although the game has always had a problem coordinating Army escorts with Naval bombers
The KB is heading northwest some, i want to recon Midway and see whats there and then it will head west to Wake. The resuply oilers are heading south west to Truk
Mersing and Mindanao fall
Singapore region
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2F3egnI0P.jpg&hash=19b18f5ddd5b4f62315a727e450282891fe4963b)
Sumatra and northwest Borneo
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FCTGzfBc.jpg&hash=1572cc3027b88e4680edc3ef76a18e37a5d9d87a)
Mindano and southern Phillipines
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FdzHfCmB.jpg&hash=23b34460b7c3766d734e43b224b701711d1a6224)
A glimpse of the activity around Japan, this will only increase as more supply TFs are created
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FGHoeao5.jpg&hash=7b9f0cce85fe302eef2e0c44927af48a2ebd437c)
Pearl, the KB heads for Midway and the oilers head to Truk, im relying on the traditional move by the allies to send their carriers south to Noumea otherwise theres a lot of oilers without air cover out there
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FXMG5LMg.jpg&hash=7b549b32188779aae6aa2b3db5b08d373ad8647b)
I'm pleasantly surprised by how tense it is reading your and KyzBP's AAR's (even in the early stages). Feels like a regular board game. O0
Quote from: Martok on June 28, 2015, 01:39:03 PM
I'm pleasantly surprised by how tense it is reading your and KyzBP's AAR's (even in the early stages). Feels like a regular board game. O0
Thanks Martok, im trying to settle into a style, havent found it yet - something thats not a wall of text and combat report or a big list of maps with scrawls on, ill get there
Quote from: Martok on June 28, 2015, 01:39:03 PM
I'm pleasantly surprised by how tense it is reading your and KyzBP's AAR's (even in the early stages). Feels like a regular board game. O0
+1
On the assumption that there are planes buzzing around, ships firing shells at each other, and carriers carrying ill post the highlights of each turn with a description of where, when and how, ill try it for this next update and see how it feels
Off the coast of Mindanao the raiders find a juicier target
Japanese Ships
DD Hatsuharu
DD Nenohi
DD Hatsushima
DD Wakaba
DD Harukaze
DD Hatakaze
Allied Ships
CA Houston, Shell hits 1, Torpedo hits 1
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FPQPe0iB.jpg&hash=f7dcfab1de25bdf774805942e33479546bc532de)
Thats the actual Houston 'the galloping ghost of the Java coast', hit in the stern by a Japanese torpedo
Near Java and Palembang the destroyers from Force Z meet the IJN raiders
Japanese Ships
CL Jintsu
DD Harusame
DD Yudachi, Shell hits 1
DD Samidare, Shell hits 5, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
DD Ikazuchi
Allied Ships
DD Encounter, Shell hits 4, heavy fires
DD Isis
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FrLsuSFe.jpg&hash=9761f8521d73e45b0e3113f8d0ef490cac1a9f01)
The Samidare goes down................
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FJsn1R6X.jpg&hash=31041b632edd0febdee6d10230b6fadac7c72c5d)
..........and the HMS Encounter is left a burning wreck
It starts to heat up as the over confident raiders meet tougher opposition - off the island of Billiton between Singkawang and Palembang the IJN and Dutch Navy clash
Japanese Ships
CL Jintsu, Shell hits 5
DD Harusame
DD Yudachi, Shell hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Ikazuchi, Shell hits 5, heavy fires, heavy damage
Allied Ships
CL Java, Shell hits 3
CL De Ruyter
CL Tromp
DD Banckert
DD Van Nes
DD Witte de With
DD Evertsen
DD Kortenaer
DD Piet Hein
DD Van Ghent
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FulLyVKU.jpg&hash=de84d50f3fe26edf7d5bc29b74a020ea1324db73)
The Jintsu comes off worse for the IJN..............
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2F3uT9Q97.jpg&hash=d0993f9367aca33cd1d58dc3a928f1ef916c97d5)
...............and the Java takes a few hits
They meet again later in the day
Japanese Ships
CL Jintsu, Shell hits 4, on fire
DD Harusame, Shell hits 1
DD Yudachi, Shell hits 25, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Ikazuchi, Shell hits 8, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
Allied Ships
CL Java, Shell hits 2, on fire
CL De Ruyter, Shell hits 1
CL Tromp
DD Banckert
DD Van Nes
DD Witte de With
DD Evertsen
DD Kortenaer
DD Piet Hein
DD Van Ghent
The Ikazuchi is lost
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2Fz1AMHty.jpg&hash=83e99244ecb17c996a350ed73eca493668e49a4b)
and the Yudachi sinks later in the day#
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FWkruRSD.jpg&hash=3216c67dfe85e2113ea0e705f5bbd43860415109)
This leaves the Dutch navy off the coast of Sumatra in range of 2 Cruiser TFs and a Battleship TF steaming round Billiton - theyre all set to rendezvous at one point and well see if we can get the Dutch to react. The landing forces at Palmebang are safe and should land next turn
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FtZbHR2E.jpg&hash=1f893246b3e499e82718a9cec71b846e9c377db9)
Forces come ashore at Miri, northern Borneo and will attempt to take the base and its oil next turn
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FI8743D3.jpg&hash=4da754ebeb10dc750b5977e2b6dd954039dd0267)
A lot of enemy shipping is hit around Mindanao both by the raiders and Betty and Nell bombers. To the west at singapore 4 tankers are sunk in the harbour by bombers from Kuantan
Zeros sent in to sweep Singapore at 20000 feet meet no opposition, i think KyzBP might be losing the airwar here
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FEW8OHRV.jpg&hash=99566c9bf5a059faba8163f3a45a669eac4ca2a4)
This was the sum total of the anticipated sea battle - both forces pulled back, better for me than KyzBP - hes now out of range of Palembang
Japanese Ships
CA Mogami
CA Mikuma
CA Suzuya, Shell hits 3
CA Kumano, Shell hits 1
DD Maikaze, Shell hits 1
DD Nowaki, Shell hits 1
DD Arashi, Shell hits 2, heavy fires
DD Hagikaze
Allied Ships
CL De Ruyter
CL Tromp, Shell hits 4, heavy fires
DD Banckert
DD Van Nes
DD Witte de With
DD Piet Hein, Shell hits 1
DD Van Ghent
DD Electra, Shell hits 1, on fire
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2Fx8Rms5C.jpg&hash=707a48d46262ea2c9c23ef890ffcfed67d313375)
The troops marching from Kuantan inland should get there next turn, and the attackers at Mersing continue the slog through the jungle to Johor Bjaru - currently they are the 5th, 18th and 48th division, they will be reinforced by the Imperial Guards from Bangkok and the 38th Division from Canton, as soon as theyve taken Hong Kong
The air war over the peninsula has been won, bombers will be moved south to disrupt the defenders of Singapore
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2Fev8w6Nj.jpg&hash=53a50ee3595eeeb31a0163f5ea990a14404893b1)
Ive seen no sign of the US CVs and its unusual for them to still be around so im sending the KB west to cover the invasion of Wake, a few days late but we'll get there
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2F1SDr1lP.jpg&hash=d0431321a438eee349f19f957108695772e775a1)
Its going pretty much to plan in this sector - Singapore is nearly isolated from reinforcements and the rest of the peninsular should be easy from there. Ive changed around the planes and their HQs as without the correct HQ the groups wont get their replacements. For instance at Patani are fighter groups that belong to the 3rd air division and 22nd air flotilla but only the 3rd air div HQ is there - its plane subgroups can receive reinforcements but not the 22nd. So all 3rd air div planes are sent to Patani, all 22nd flotilla planes are sent to Kuantan and the 23rds are sent to Palembang - it leaves a few holes in CAP but i can pay to swap planes over to other HQs, ill work out the requirements later.
The long term plan here is to take Singapore and ship out the main fighting units east to take Manilla and the Phillipines leaving behind small infantry units to garrison the main bases
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FTLbzbne.jpg&hash=fa23a35589e8d4d05410c2cfafcb638862ca0647)
Palembang falls with minor damage to the refineries, the forces divide and head north and south, the majority to the south to take Oosthaven and secure the airfield there to deal with Batavia. All the engineers and air support groups from Singkawang will sail across to build up the base. I wont risk the surface combat groups here to the gauntlet of Java and instead sail them north over Borneo to interdict shipping there. I will make a group of the fastest cruisers and destroyers and send these southwest to see if we can bag some unescorted ships coming into Perth
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FDbe3BIh.jpg&hash=2e560f6b065881d984b378b9cee6bb61e37ca0d7)
Its busy around Mindanao - we sank 13 ships here this turn, all trying to squeeze past Sandakan. Surface raiders are sent here to try and catch the last ones coming through. The mini KB is headed north to Takao to meet up with another light carrier and an escort carrier, combined with another escort carrier near Truk theyll have a combined air group of 150 planes.
The 4th Division is due to arrive in Badelbaob first, theyll meet up with an escort and head in under a CAP umbrella from Manado and Mindanao - once reinforced with engineers and air support the 4th will be split into groups to sweep through the main bases in the surrounding area
Im undecided on the big plan after Java is done - still making my mind up
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FImb7u0x.jpg&hash=95799e611a1407c69188ed98ba22022b83ca3981)
A collection of small units are all heading to Rabaul, when there units already en route will fill the base with engineers and air support to provide a main base for an assault on Port Moresby. The main attack force for that will be the wake invasion force and a regiment currently en route from Korea
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2Ffw131Rr.jpg&hash=7a46ec07b130670ede0a624a5170032faca3b3c2)
Wakes been a disaster and i havent even landed there yet - bombers based there attack an incoming task force carrying a small company and support group, the main invasion force holds back until the KB can arrive to provide CAP
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2F7fXq7Oc.jpg&hash=a88ffc106c8d9e1fecf68e977d4a06d89db5b002)
and then this - i figured KyzBP had left the area by now but a carrier group, i cant tell which, was close enough to attack the replenishment oilers and im not close enough with the KB to get revenge, the KB carries on west to Wake
Reading from both sides is always entertaining. :P
Quote from: jomni on June 30, 2015, 09:02:28 PM
Reading from both sides is always entertaining. :P
Indeed. The cat-and-mouse/back-and-forth is fascinating to watch, never mind that it's less than a week into the war. 8)
The Penguin - fabled and beloved of all Allied Fanboys - dont know why, it usually becomes a cropper in the first 2 turns, ill catch him, purely for morale boosting
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2Fvxqbsgx.jpg&hash=17ee66d50b2c994504db3e8cd8bb33f5881ecb8a)
Usually very hard to kill, the Royal Navy destroyers get it off Southern Borneo
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2Fd6yfGME.jpg&hash=f528bcc368c3d0c4d455da6ed8943050ad8cde1c)
Sneaky KyzBP
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FrF0kQqf.jpg&hash=9df79c54ec78d513313a3435354ff008c52dab55)
Plans coming along nicely
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FvgzefBq.jpg&hash=d6bbb6ae5d8ba1240f0d23b0374b3b7b7d1b9f33)
Well, i made a mess of that, seriously, where did all those come from?
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FLC2YEbH.jpg&hash=4eb5cbf66a94c3980c35034f4415211e020c764d)
Trying to evade the mass of US ASW thats going to come out of the islands but still kill everything at the same time
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2Fri67pgk.jpg&hash=e813597a9122fddf6228f7f2460d2c028462f407)
This is where the commerce raiders should have been heading
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2F5ySZT0u.jpg&hash=8a238e6b53c25b236f46cb0fb51255e613ce41e7)
Good stuff. Really enjoying the two-side narrative. I might have to invest in this game, like I need another time sink or something.
I know how you feel, but once you're over the first 10 turns its not so time hungry
I've decided in head-canon to regard the hilarious phantom mines as leftovers from World War One. ;D
Great work, UCG!
Thanks BC O0
Johore Bharu should fall next turn as the IJA marches in, to the northwest the 18th div who took a different route to everyone else (!)
North of Kuantan the IJA attack the old inhabitants and push them further west
Everythings going to plan here and we should be in Singapore for Christmas. Bombers have been moved into Mersing with its newly expanded airfield, there are no fighters present so theyll go unescorted IF theyll go unescorted
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FdBhaWp6.jpg&hash=ae75dafbfe2bf68d1ee280ad4af4b29e86405a09)
The Wake fiasco, the KB is coming west to provide CAP for the invaders, id hoped to avoid using the 144th regiment on the western ships hoping the 52nd Maizaru company on the southern ships would be enough, but some ass sank them all!! The 144th is takes for Port Moresby so will get straight back on the ships
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FzQUb0St.jpg&hash=af2f7d779f48bc3ab02ee43d269fce29141ab7af)
And the biggest calamity so far......... the 23rd Air Flotilla gets battered off Manilla thanks to a cross eyed fleet commander, theres a fraction of the group left, i can manage without the air support value, im just hoping the fact that there is some presence of a HQ group however small is enough to provide the admin benefits, otherwise ill need to ship in another HQ and reassign all those planes to that one - le sigh
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FQEO9tbC.jpg&hash=fe4230453a8c2d57c9c46e4b504f18ea2d19b728)
Malaya
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FQKAtiJx.jpg&hash=24818c5468187ddd0cb14fb2a3658ab9e4f47232)
Borneo
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FUKHIHDX.jpg&hash=146c5d307d28a7104363bbe86a7caf9d13a86df1)
New Britain
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FB2SCyM4.jpg&hash=231a08e6f096efcfa241a211544455c99e9e48a8)
I'm very impressed my your progress UCG. Do the Japanese not need their carriers to support the land offensive across the South Pacific? Is land based air power alone capable of supporting their needs?
Quote from: Sir Slash on July 03, 2015, 12:28:48 PM
I'm very impressed my your progress UCG. Do the Japanese not need their carriers to support the land offensive across the South Pacific? Is land based air power alone capable of supporting their needs?
In the land locked areas it's much safer and more effective to use land based air - the only temptation to bring the carriers in land is to take on any surrounding navy ships that land based air struggle with like the fast destroyers and cruisers
For the way I play the carriers are an extension of the land based air, supporting island and atoll attacks or far away bases where land based air can't be brought to bear
bookmark... to remind me where I left off. O0
You evil enablers made me re-buy this. Any recommendations for tutorials?
Quote from: Silent Disapproval Robot on July 06, 2015, 02:08:29 AM
You evil enablers made me re-buy this. Any recommendations for tutorials?
with my hand on heart i would say the best thing you could do is read a few AARs (not this amateur hour attempt!!) but ones by the pros over at Matrix, go to the AAR section and sort it by replies or views to give you some idea of how popular they were - id avoid the one that comes up by Capt Mandrake at the top, its full of in jokes and forum humour thatll mean fk all - it did to me anyway - the two best in my opinion are by PzB he plays the Japanese, and Andy Mac his opponent, they both did one AFAIK, ive only read PzBs as im a JFB
and then find an opponent and jump straight in, agree with the oppo there may be a few 'can i redo that turn because i didnt realise' moments
are you allies or Japanese?
Here's a link to some tutorial videos (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXeRSW0IdSTd2NygEkAzn64mJRd3fX5gD). I haven't watched them yet so I can't speak to quality.
Quote from: bbmike on July 06, 2015, 07:44:39 AM
Here's a link to some tutorial videos (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXeRSW0IdSTd2NygEkAzn64mJRd3fX5gD). I haven't watched them yet so I can't speak to quality.
Thanks. I started watching those a few days ago but the guy is just basically reading through Gradenko's tutorial that he found on the Matrix forums. That would be OK if it weren't for the fact that he's not the most skilled reader out there. Listening to him try to read the name "Gradenko" is painful.
Malaya
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FUf2jKYQ.jpg&hash=be40ff6459c3cd143277b755e2adbb058b8a45ba)
Southern Borneo/Java
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FYXBbcPc.jpg&hash=e27bc6103d1c7251af673e614a6457cbdfa8578b)
Rabaul
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2F5ArxulG.jpg&hash=7aa4222f07e029acca2e1ef8127527cdcf0ca535)
Its gone quieter whilst the second wave invasion forces get ready to land and the support troops move in. With KyzBP knowing where the KB is i feel he thinks hes got it easy in the Pacific, in these few early weeks its essential to capture the oil in the DEI and the Pacific takes a back seat. Once Wake falls the KB is headng south to Truk to refuel and repair any damaged planes, it is then heading south to harass enemy shipping coming from the US and heading to Australia and Fiji
Good Luck.
On the attack is my favorite place to be. :)
Quote from: MetalDog on July 06, 2015, 09:17:41 PM
On the attack is my favorite place to be. :)
Who'da thunk! ::)
I wonder how long MD's turns would take in THIS game...
Quote from: Banzai_Cat on July 07, 2015, 07:45:01 AM
I wonder how long MD's turns would take in THIS game...
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2F1.bp.blogspot.com%2F-beoOSwWPn-M%2FU5vTIl9b4KI%2FAAAAAAAADCo%2FRmUfROuvo7U%2Fs1600%2FRip_Van_winkle3.jpg&hash=d2511a2fba2aa0686aba40fb391fd4bfb2bfb24a)
"I fell asleep waiting on MD to finish his turn, and look what happened when he was finally done!" :2funny:
Latest update from Tokyo
http://captiongenerator.com/49122/Yamamoto-meets-with-the-Emperor
:2funny:
Got a fancy new topographical map mod
Borneo/Balikpapan
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FkdwU7mv.jpg&hash=ad09cd336d4543cbccec8e5e15e78edeaa8ea6de)
Wake
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FwLfwhkR.jpg&hash=c6a41641a1eb966d384d18a7e51f794b64477e48)
Pacific Islands
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FmREGFwy.jpg&hash=da0e94a016bc26e1536800a51a61fb61e73a6ac7)
The subs off Pearl are still having some moderate success, at least a hit a turn, they need a lot of micro management though - sitting in one place is just going to get them killed, so they get moved north or south 2 hexes every turn
Off Sumatra im still hitting a lot of ships near Oosthaven and Batavia with the subs
Last turn a cruiser or two was seen mooching around the southern tip of the Celebes, i dont know whether KyzBP is heading to Australia or positioning to block the Balikpapan raid, i thought id been stealthy and am surprised hed know it was en route - with that in mind the rest of the Pacific divisions at Badelbaob are merged into one massive task force and escorted by cruisers and battleships head to Manado, they wont unload but i want there to be a rolling effect to the attacks not stop start, as KyzBP exits Borneo i want to be landing in Sumatra - ive chosen the 3 spots we just need a clear path - the Prince of Wales is still out there somewhere and the Dutch navy
Cool new map UCG. O0
Quote from: Barthheart on July 07, 2015, 08:57:48 AM
Quote from: Banzai_Cat on July 07, 2015, 07:45:01 AM
I wonder how long MD's turns would take in THIS game...
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Quote from: Banzai_Cat on July 07, 2015, 09:31:14 AM
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2F1.bp.blogspot.com%2F-beoOSwWPn-M%2FU5vTIl9b4KI%2FAAAAAAAADCo%2FRmUfROuvo7U%2Fs1600%2FRip_Van_winkle3.jpg&hash=d2511a2fba2aa0686aba40fb391fd4bfb2bfb24a)
"I fell asleep waiting on MD to finish his turn, and look what happened when he was finally done!" :2funny:
You two can bite me! :P
Northern Malaya/Sumatra
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FAyTYffC.jpg&hash=bee7e619d15050235c0c0d45912a540f0da57f76)
Singapore
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FG5glXg2.jpg&hash=99a83886a7c502ab7a6f5a262ebe8fde6e73f761)
Southern Sumatra/Palembang
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FEdNrXvB.jpg&hash=cc4ec1ec874735d812d4a3afef5c4b5dbfed7168)
Borneo/Balikpapan
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2Fg6ttelq.jpg&hash=cff6ccce58a232b97bf4cf69ecf2c7167b67fa01)
Wake :D
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FNo53zdZ.jpg&hash=0a4f40a634f71fc80d774a607bba73b22b2cf5b8)
I get what you're saying about bypassing Singapore for Sabang, what I don't get is, why? You have the steamroller in motion. You should continue to use it. Create as much havoc and and as many problems as you can.
Congratulations on Wake. The Allied reports (your opponent) indicate that your invasion was a disaster and all attackers were massacred. I guess that was your first wave.
Either he is witholding the bad news or you are cherry coating and keeping secret the cost of your invasion.
Quote from: JapanWake falls on the first proper attempt of capture
Quote from: USAHis entire landing force was wiped out. I don't see anymore invasion type ships hanging around so Wake may be off the hook for a little bit.
Note: gotta love these attempts at propaganda, misinformation, cherry picking of news for both sides.
Lol that was the day before where a cruiser with 50 of the old invasion force was missed and not combined with this main force - it landed an because it's an atoll a shock attack is triggered and the 50 killed themselves on the beach
Quote from: MetalDog on July 08, 2015, 09:20:15 PM
I get what you're saying about bypassing Singapore for Sabang, what I don't get is, why? You have the steamroller in motion. You should continue to use it. Create as much havoc and and as many problems as you can.
MD - you don't see why I should be concerned about Sabang or whether going through the straits is too gamey?
Weirdly there was a post on matrix about doing it the other day and the consensus of opinion was you could do it - the guns at Singapore couldn't reach out beyond the bay with too many little islands blocking a full field of view - they would have a problem with battleships going through but not destroyers and transport craft - I'll retire to my bunker for some chin scratching
USA has reported the loss of Wake already.
Sorry, geek, going through the straits being gamey is what I meant.
Quote from: MetalDog on July 09, 2015, 05:57:23 AM
Sorry, geek, going through the straits being gamey is what I meant.
Yeah I think it appears to be acceptable - I have the perfect guys for it
Do you have a download link for your Map Mod UCG? Was it easy to install?
Quote from: Tuna on July 09, 2015, 08:47:02 PM
Do you have a download link for your Map Mod UCG? Was it easy to install?
Let me find it for you - there are about 10 to choose from, pure topological with no road or rail markings, with or without hexes, with or without dots on the hexes, for vanilla or extended map or all that list again but with rail and road markings - I'll link to the actual thread for the map and you can choose
Once you pick a map it's easy to do - you're just replacing art files
go here http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/fb.asp?m=3611473
choose the map you like, for a preview go here http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=3599038&mpage=9&key=%EF%BF%BD - a guy has done a gif of the changing map types and also put installation instructions - if you dont use the Big Babes mod you dont need stage 6-8
Malaya
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Balikpapan
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Big sea battle, i think i won - im coming away with all my ships as opposed to the sunken Allied ships
Southern China
The first time hes made me swear at the screen - in fact there was almost a cup of tea across the room
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Makassar Straits
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The ever positive Allies:
QuoteOnly 2 of our ships are currently battling fires while nearly all of his damaged ships are burning. I think this battle will end up being a victory for us considering the odds and the amount of damage he took.
Southern China/Samah
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Borneo/Balikpapan
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Nauru/South Pacific
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Thanks for the Map Mod link UCG, works great!... SDR and I are gonna try out the Guadalcanal scenario.. noob heaven!
Quote from: Tuna on July 12, 2015, 09:24:48 PM
Thanks for the Map Mod link UCG, works great!... SDR and I are gonna try out the Guadalcanal scenario.. noob heaven!
That's a good starting point.
Quote from: Tuna on July 12, 2015, 09:24:48 PM
Thanks for the Map Mod link UCG, works great!... SDR and I are gonna try out the Guadalcanal scenario.. noob heaven!
That's great - have fun then put your big boy pants on and go campaign!!
I still can't figure out which file I'm supposed to email so the campaign might be a while yet.
Quote from: Silent Disapproval Robot on July 13, 2015, 02:53:37 AM
I still can't figure out which file I'm supposed to email so the campaign might be a while yet.
Are you allies or Japanese - if you're instigating the game as the Japanese you need to send the slot you saved the game in - I use 10, and the 001 file, this is the replay for your opponent to watch
Japanese. No idea which file is which. I sent him a random one.
;D
as long as it has a good opening move youll be ok
Love your new Avatar UCG! O0
Me too. They look hungry--- for Catalina's.
Oh man - the Catalinas, laser guided bomb dropping bast**** they are
This turn there was an unhealthy amount of submarine action between port blair, australia and all the way to pearl - theres a lot of future diving wrecks for people to go see out there
Balikpapan/Borneo
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Pearl
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Malaya - having gained an early advantage here its getting squandered waiting for the Imperial Guards to get on their frikking ships, and the 38th Div to arrive, so we're starting the march now and will try a shock attack on arrival - depending on the results we'll go again or wait for the other 2 divisions - its time this was over
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Borneo - decisive sea battle this turn, the Prince of Wales goes down, and one more Dutch cruiser. We dont suffer a lot of damage, a cruiser and 2 destroyers will split off and head for the repair yards. Its almost time to invade Java, the last piece in the puzzle is the amount of bombers at Soerbaja - if i can contain them theyll set off - im going to land at the 3 eastern provinces between Soerbaja and Batavia, take them and then utilise the railways to move the troops. Im hoping to land at Kendari in the next turn or two, that only leaves Ambon as a decent airfield in enemy hands in the area
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Out in the Pacific we're collecting infantry and base forces to start the island acquisition plan
32 shells and 4 torpedoes! :o No wonder the PoW went down..... O0
Quote from: Barthheart on July 14, 2015, 01:08:23 PM
32 shells and 4 torpedoes! :o No wonder the PoW went down..... O0
I was going to say the same thing; but since Bart already did...
Patrol Boats causing raid havoc in Vietnam? O0 :coolsmiley:
Also, love the map mod but I'd probably have to play the original map graphcs; for some reason I can 'see' them better.
although its not an option in the game, it did seem like they went after the PoW first and were happy with that
Malaya
Singapore falls at the first attempt, the whole front changes focus to the second part of the plan - Luzon/Manilla
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Palembang/Sumatra
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Burma/Rangoon
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Celebes/Balikpapan
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Manilla/Luzon
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Pacific/Baker Island
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Malaya/Borneo/Sumatra
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The exodus to Singapore continues. Further South we finally get to Oosthaven and kick out the Dutch - engineers and air support will be railed in from Palembang and we can start mowing s*** down in Java. Meanwhile the taxi TF starts loading the Oosthaven victors, ready to take then North for Sabang
Over on Brunei, for some reason i cant get the supplies off the ship to bolster the attack and we cant get a big enough victory to kill off the garrison, and further west in Kuching im waiting for heavier forces to land to ensure victory
Java
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Its early but its looking ok for the Java attack - weve landed at Tjepoe, a bit short of supplies but some are on the way round from Banjoewangi on the Southern tip of Java, which is also just about to be invaded, and the other 3 invasion task forces are just short of their destinations. Theyre at the outer limit of the CAP from Balikpapan but they should be ok. All escorting combat ships are splitting off from the invasion forces and chasing down allied shipping pulling away from the west of Java, see what we can catch
Out to the east Kendari is ok, Ambon is a PITA but i dont have any spare forces to shut it down just yet
Mindanao
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That frikking base right in the middle!! Its mountainous and impenetrable and takes so long to get there - right now the plan is to march in the forces coming from the North and try the attack again - Davao has a regiment that could get it done in a day but the march is endless - if the new plan fails ill ship the regiment to Cagayan in the north and march south, there are no roads in the southern area heading north
Pacific
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..........and i always forget Guam, im sure theres Catalinas on there and someones spying on me - again forces are scarce and its on the list
Kido Butai
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Small pickings so far, a destroyer and a freighter - shes going further south and further east
Malaya
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Sumatra
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Java
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Celebes
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Pacific
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Fiji
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I've downloaded the modded map. Did the weather icons disappear for you once you downloaded this map? I don't see weather on the map anymore.
no i still have them - TBH ive never even noticed them until i read your post and saw one in a replay this afternoon
I downloaded some weather .bmps from a different map mod and installed them over the existing ones and these seem to work. Weird.
glad its sorted O0
Malaya
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Sumatra
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Java
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The Celebes
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Mindanao
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Rabaul
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Baker
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Still sampling with the AAR styles here so im going to go for a text only update and see if its not too hard to visualise whats going on
Malaya -
The sweep from the north is still waiting for the Thai Army divisions to get off the train and join the 112th regiment, then a short march across the neck of the peninsular and on into Alor Star, Georgetown and Taiping. The sweep from the south to support the 112th is routing troops at every available confrontation and is marching through the jungle in pursuit of Allied fragments and is heading for Alor Star.
Singapore is chock full of transport ships and war ships, huge tanker task forces are bringing in fuel and then sending fuel out to the far reaches of the new empire, fuel ships are heading to Balikpapan, Truk and soon Soerbaja. The Manilla invasion task forces have left, 3 big task forces divided into infantry, artillery and air support - infantry and artillery will land at Iba where the biggest port on the west of Luzon is, besides Manilla, and the air teams will land at Vigan where the biggest airfield is. I'm having a problem a problem with low flying strafing runs coming out of the Manilla area at the moment - they put 3 bombs in the Taiyo as she passed this turn. To combat this im reconning an airfield on the very northern edge of Luzon, if its empty ill land a small base force and some air support there so that i can have some Zeros within striking distance to CAP the incming invasions and try and sweep some of these P36s away.
Sumatra -
Across from the peninsular, in the south Oosthaven and Palembang are still providing air support over northern Java. In the North a glorious victory for the Empire, the combat task force rounds the head of Sabang and catches a number of large Allied support groups - everything is sunk, a lot of transport ships and some fuel ships. With the path swept clear the invasion force lands and preapres to attack - intel shows 10 enemy units but with half my number of troops and a tenth of the guns - i suspect engineers and air support troops - either way theyll be speaking Japanese next turn. The intention was to bounce the combat ships of Sabang and onto Port Blair where intel also shows a lot of enemy TFs, but such was the glut of targets here the ships are out of ammo, theyre on a quick jaunt south to Singapore for a reload and then theyll be back.
Borneo -
There are landings at Jessleton and Beaufort, finishing off enemy resistance in the North of the island, forces will now reembark and head east around the coast to Tarakan and other bases. Further south, Balikpapan is still struggling for supplies but the need for them is dwindling as aircraft leave to the expanded front - a good number have left to Bandjermasan on the west coast opposite Soerbaja to provide support, and with the fall of the major airfield on the east of Java, a lot have moved there too. Apart from the base force and a few engineers, forces are prepping to leave the base and move onto new conquests further south.
Celebes -
Minado is abandoned and Kendari becomes the new base for the area but there is little calling for air support as there are no enemy present. Forces here also prep to move on. The last of the unoccupied bases will soon fall and then Makassar will be left on its own and taken.
Mindanao -
Essentially, all resistance has been removed, small garrison forces man the bases and the main attacking force is waiting to be taken off the island and meet up with its parent division on Java.
To the south forces are en route to Ambon - destroyers here spend their days dodging repeated bombing runs from KyzBPs forces whilst refusing to engage the naval forces near the bases - problem should be resolved after it falls
Java -
All the outlying bases have been taken and Batavia and Soerbaja wait to be attacked, forces are boarding trains or prepping to and then the final assault both north and south should begin - im guessing theres a week left here. These six divisions will then meet up with essential air support and base forces and the attack of Northern Australia will begin. Smaller regiments and other forces will be used to mop up Timor and Flores on the way to Darwin.
Pacific -
Baker Island is turning out to be my KHAAAAAAAAANNNNN!!!!!!! moment - neither of us have strong enough forces to put off the other and we keep meeting at the island, clashing and retreating - 2 big cruiser forces are about 2 days out, CarDiv 2 is also present but got lost in bad weather this last turn, everyone will rendevous and the island should fall in 2 - 3 days - other forces have left to Palmyra. Canton looks to be fully manned and supported and will be a tough nut to crack - we'll tackle that after the other islands fall.
CarDiv 1 is almost at Truk for repairs and replenishment, as is the mini KB coming from the west.
At Rabaul is the 144th regiment and the 7th division, also en route is the 90th regiment - once all the ships are in place theyll leave for Port Moresby. Between the two is Lae, a small base that is receiving a base force this turn so that a few Zeros can provide CAP over the invading task force
Thats all for now
Quote from: Banzai_Cat on July 07, 2015, 09:31:14 AM
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"I fell asleep waiting on MD to finish his turn, and look what happened when he was finally done!" :2funny:
ROFL
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When last we spoke, the invasion of Sabang at the top of Sumatra had just landed - after 2 poorly executed attacks by IJA troops it became apparent that they were suffering from disruption - the best solution being rest. KyzBP, it appears is not a man to let the troops rest and has subsequently bombarded the area twice whilst my troops catch a few rays on the beach - fortuitously these bombardments came in the absence of my much superior cruisers and destroyers as they were reloading at Singapore. My surface fleet returned with a vengeance this turn only to find the Allies gone, well not all, they left a rag tag fleet of support ships and auxiliaries - they sank without much effort. You can just see the Allied fleet passing Great Nicobar to the very north of the picture, i order a quick pursuit and we'll see if we can catch them, if not we head north east and see whats at Port Blair
The Peninsular itself is almost swept clean of Allies - those that remain are out of resistance and supplies - its a mopping up exercise. This turn all the construction engineers have been scooped up at Palembang, Singapore and Balikpapan and will head east to the Pacific to begin building fortresses on our soon to be acquired American bases.
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South east things are progressing well. The Celebes is all but cleared of resistance, Makassar remains to be captured, and that force is loading on the other side of the coast. Kendari is the main hub here for naval searches and naval attacks except there are no targets - i suspect KyzBP has finally headed for Darwin/Northern Oz. There is a fleet of annoying PT boats thats hanging around the uncaptured island between Bima and Kendari that my planes wont engage, even at 100 ft - i have sent a Destroyer force to go deal with them - if that doesnt work, theyll soon be out of places to refuel their tiny tanks anyway.
Ambon finally fell this turn after a long campaign to dredge up enough forces from Malaya or Java to go actually do the job - there was little resistance but i feel we caught KyzBP unawares - about 20 planes were destroyed on the airfield and about 6 of his tin can destroyers were scuttled in the harbour. Admittedly a break out force came from the south, presumably Darwin to take on my plane dodging destroyers, who for a good 5 turns have avoided all attempts from the air to put dents in them, 3 have a few scars and fires to deal with - theyre heading home for repairs. The actual transport force that just got here was sunk, but it was empty of everything important and theres another one at Kendari to pick them up soon - i just need to make sure the sea lanes are clear
Everything in this picture will get back on board transport ships and slowly hop south through all the island chains and stop just north of Oz and wait..........
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To the west, Java - 'the island of least resistance' - almost no fighting so far apart from nudging aside base forces and garrisons - everything that can and will move has been sent to Soerabaja in the south or Batavia in the north, getting there is just a matter of logistics, the divisions are moving into place. In the north combat engineers are moving down the road to meet up with 4th and 16th divisions before coordinating an attack with the 33rd Div and heading into Batavia, a similar story in the South - i will make one attack on Batavia first and see what the results are like - if we need a bigger hammer then divisions prepping for Soerabaja will head up the rails and finish Batavia first before moving en masse back down the island.
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Things seem finally ready here - the 7th Div and 90th regiment with some air support are just about to leave to round the tip of the chain and attack Port Moresby. Its been difficult getting air cover down here and some small task forces have been at the mercy of some low level bombing from KyzBP out of Port Moresby, but a passing fragment of the KB coming into Truk for resupplies has lent its Zeroes to the operation and now things can move along. An attack on Oz cant be considered without owning this stretch of land and its important we get it done
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The only thing that saved these 2 Allied TFs from our carriers was the weather - the morning attack was rained off and the second was at half strength - we damaged 1 of 4 big AP transport ships to the south and missed the one to the west altogether.
To the south, Fiji - i have just bought out 2 full strength units from Japan to transport down here and take these islands - they are notoriously hard to support and keep when the tide turns but i want as much Allied real estate as possible to ruffle KyzBPs feathers
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More feather rustling - its safe to say Canton is pretty much armed to the teeth and under an umbrella of protection, im looking further east towards Palmyra and Christmas Island and then ill look at Johnston, maybe Midway - what i take now needs taking back, if i make it as hard as possible for KyzBP to do this then thats ok
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The attack fleet of Great Nicobar just misses the scurvy Allied cowards - theyre ordered north east to tangle with the juicy looking targets at Port Blair
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The divisions are on their final approach. Bombers are pounding Batavia, causing disruption and causing casualties
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Air support troops and a base force have landed at San Fernando, despite been the biggest port in the region the unloading is going slow. Infantry and Artillery troops are about to land at Iba where theyll consolidate and march on Clark Field air base just to the south-east. CAP is provided by Zeroes flying at 100 feet in the hope we can catch any of those P36s who were absent this turn
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The Port Moresby invasion fleet is unseen i think, although its capped from Lae there were no attacks on it - approaching Rabaul is CarDiv 1 to provide any CAP it may need as it rounds the headlands
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CarDiv 3 has the entire area to itself, we need to take some land down here to put up a search umbrella - my spidey sense tells me theres supply fleets around here somewhere. CarDiv 2 is approaching Truk for resupply, it will rendevous with '1' near Port Moresby and then meet up with 3 - then they will head west and harass the Australian sea lanes
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Finally Operation Harass KyzBP, Palmyra looks like it might be receiving reinforcements too, we have recon planes within the TF so we'll have a look as we approach and see what happens
A few turns of tit for tat sinkings - the gloves are off and theres some serious Task Force whacking going on, unfortunately thats worse news for me than KyzBP - he has a million, trillion tonnes of shipping coming over the next few years - i dont.
Below, cross number 2 represents a raid by KyzBP that saw allied cruisers come out of the night and sink a lot of our cargo/troop ships - they were empty thank god but are still at the bottom of the sea
Cross number 1 represents a raid by the same guys on a small fuel task force taking fuel from Palambang to Truk - they are all future dive wrecks and the cruisers disappeared again - such is the success of the raids i dont know where theyre based
Batavia fell this turn delivering 18k prisoners to the Java prison camp. Everyone involved is getting on a train to Soerbaja to make sure it falls on the first attempt.
For this area whats left is Soerbaja, Makassar and one base left on Borneo - when these 3 have been taken ALL free units with an attack value will be sent to Soerbaja to work out the requirements for an attack on Northern Australia
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And this is where the rest of the IJA are tied up - the attack on Manilla. It is supported by the air from Takao, with Nells and Betties bombing Allied ground troops - the first main target is Clark Field, theres just a bit of maintenance and mopping up to do before we get there. Coming from Takao are troops to capture Vigan and Aparri on the north of the Phillipines - these will also work their way south. I forgot about the frikking bombers he has there and they bag one cargo ship heading North from Iba - i will enjoy destroying these as i take all their air bases
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Moulmein looks busy! The Thai army is heading west to see whats happening
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Its been one administrative disaster after another during the attack on Port Moresby - the attack forces arrived last turn but i hadnt ordered them to get off the boats so they just drank beer in the harbour for a day, to make sure it didnt happen again i took the 'do not unload' orders off the incoming reinforcement task force, and they decided to unload on a passing island! We finally seem to have the CAP situation sorted here and any incoming air attacks were beaten off
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KyzBP likes bombarding Baker, i dont know why, 2 turns in a row now - theres not many casualties caused or base damage - but to be fair he can reduce it to rubble - thats why i took it, and will take other Pacific islands - my presence there is enough to cause him to commit a decent sized bombardment force that isnt doing it anywhere else - to that end the plan is working. To smack him like a naughty step child though Car Div 1 is on its way to sink a few - they will station on the far side of Baker, enough to put them in range of Baker but out of range of Canton and its torpedo bombers. At Baker is the 5th Base Force trying to get off their ships but guess what - i ordered them to not unload - AAAARRRRRRRRRGH - and to top it off im betting theres a 3rd bombardment force and it will catch the ships in the harbour!!
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and onto Palmyra, an island further east whos taking i hope will cause consternation in the Allied ranks. The plan was to land this turn, trigger the automatic shock attack and take the island with its little squadron of Devastators - it was going ok until the attack bit - we didnt win - this leaves the landing fleet open to the attacks of the bombers and also the escort fleet that took a few bangs and dents this turn - theyre heading to Tokyo for some repairs
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Surface raiders stationed off Pearl get bombed from the middle of nowhere - here be Flatops, thank god - i wondered where they were
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Excited to see this return!
Also, I admire the strategy of setting up bombardment temptation traps. Go on. You know you want to. Just a little more. Mmm, good isn't IT'S A TRAP!
:D
Hey Hiro-Geek-To. I was wondering how you play China in the game? And what effect it has on the game as to whether either player can ignore or not afford to ignore that theater. I had always thought it was kind of there just for show and not really that important for either player.
My main priority is to clear the allies north and west of the main railway line - 2 reasons, it allows me to ship troops through the area quicker and frees up the Singapore - port Arthur supplies route pushing oil and fuel all the way to the Chinese coast and then a short hop over to the home islands
After that is to funnel the allies all the way back to Burma - there's some big VP targets in China and quite a bit of light industry I can deny the allies
So China can provide Japan a secure land route for oil. I had never thought of that but it makes perfect sense when you think about it. Thanks UCG. Carry on.
For reference purposes, here was my reply on that topic from The Eagle's Thread. Does not contain spoilers for whatever the Eagle may or may not be doing anywhere on the map now or in future plans so far as I know.
Quote from: JasonPratt on October 02, 2015, 05:51:51 AM
[Is China a sideshow or unimportant for Japan in WitP:AE?] Lord, no, it's practically a whole game to itself. At the very least it's a troop sink for relatively easy resources, so it's a hard question [for Japan] whether to ignore it or how far to prosecute it. Ditto for Burma and the rest of SE Asia; and then the question, which is also true for China, is: just how much are you willing to let the Allies set up an Asian landwar situation in their favor nearby? -- do you try to push for India?? Or taking the other extreme, if you ignore China and the Asian landwar, are you prepared to throw back an utterly massive Allied army with the world's largest possible aircraft carrier (i.e. Asia) parked just over the horizon from the Home Islands?
I'd go so far to say that, arguably much like real life, China is why any Japanese player ultimately loses the war, either in the sense of not being able to force the US player to lose interest and quit soon enough because Japan is busy dealing with CHINA, or in the sense of being surrounded and overwhelmed early because CHINA got its act together and wasn't pacified any/enough.
I think it'd be worth asking UGeek his opinion on the matter, too (uh... in hindsight that may have been what you originally mean, Slash... :-[ ::) ), and how his view of China in the game is coloring the actions he's taking in China and related Asian land areas.
ah got you!!!
wondered what you were all doing in my thread :P
Exactly. You've both helped my understanding of the game immensely.
Quote from: undercovergeek on October 03, 2015, 09:34:17 AM
wondered what you were all doing in my thread :P
Come on now! You know you do this for the ego stroke ;)
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Alor Star - the last bastion of Allied hope in Malaya, it should fall in a few turns - we're already there but not in force, to the north east are 2 approaching Thai divisions that should secure the region.
To the south the victorious forces near Georgetown are getting on trains to Singapore, with Malaya taken it frees up a lot of forces to redirect - small forces to take the unprotected outlying remainders of Sumatra and Borneo and onto the islands between Timor and Java, and the big divisions to finish off Java and head to Australia
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Java - Soerbaja is all thats left, theres an approaching IJA army with an attack value of 1200, the same as the one that took Batavia, these forces are also southbound to Soerbaja to ensure the victory - this will also be the biggest release of Japanese forces which will rest for a few days and head to Australia with the Malayan forces
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Timor - the last defence against the IJA before northern Oz, theres some handy airfields here - not for me, but for KyzBP to defend from, and having cleared out Kendari and Ambon i dont have any recon in range - we'll recon by force and land at the airfields at Dili and Koepang and see whats there. From Ambon will come the 146th regiment and the 8th tank regiment - it should be plenty to take the island, AV and air HQs will also leapfrog here from Sumatra and Borneo - then we'll prep simultaneous landings all the way across the north coast of Oz
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After 3 attacks Port Moresby finally falls, Rabauls support network of ship tenders and Air support will be loaded up and sent here, others will be sent from Japan to restock Rabaul. CarDiv 1 will now head east to cause some mischief in the coral sea and around Guadalcanal - it will then rejoin CarDiv 2 to either flatten Canton Island or head west to scare Sydney
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Theres already a raiding force out east bashing unescorted cargo ships around the islands
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and further east we land at Savaii, our outpost in Fiji - hopefully it will fall fast, theres some air support on the way and with this we hope to annoy or scare KyzBP - either way is good
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The 4 corners of my pain, Baker - getting bombed by KyzBPs surface force, Palmyra - where i didnt land with enough force and cant reinforce due to the presence of dive bombers, Christmas - where id like to go next, Canton - currently untouchable but ill turn it into a car park soon
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and lastly the pearl blockade - i think we sank 4 ships here today, big juicy ones too
Cracking stuff, this.
Pip-pip, old boy. Chappie to yer hows-your-father, eh? +1, nice one.
.....Time for your medication again, B_C.
Quote from: bob48 on October 19, 2015, 04:44:26 PM
.....Time for your medication again, B_C.
If only it were that simple, Bob.
Yup - Simple Bob - that's me ;~}
Your submarine wall is so neat. I never thought of doing it that way.
I can't even imagine how much work it must be to create that wall, not to mention maintain it. :idiot2:
Quote from: Toonces on October 20, 2015, 07:36:50 PM
I can't even imagine how much work it must be to create that wall, not to mention maintain it. :idiot2:
Yes.given that those submarines need to go home at one point.
I've made their home base Kwajalein and stuck a sub tender there - even if I forget one needs replenishing I'll spot it at kwaj and send it back - it's not a lot of micro but it's worth it
That's great Geek. Can you maintain the sub line there or do they need to be moved around to avoid the American ASW assets?
Quote from: Sir Slash on October 21, 2015, 10:09:35 AM
That's great Geek. Can you maintain the sub line there or do they need to be moved around to avoid the American ASW assets?
occassionally KyzBP will come SW or NE all up/down one line but he couldnt hit a cows arse with a cricket bat at the moment - if some serious ASW comes out we step back or forward 2 hexes and confuse him
Weeeeeeeee're off to see the coastline, the wonderful coastline of Oz!
So why would we invade that desert?
Because it is there, because!
Because of the horrible spiders and crocs, and sharks and dogs, and snakes and hogs,
Because because because because becaaaaaaauuuusseeee
Because of the wonderful blonde sheilas
{bumpty bumpty bump-ty bump}
We're off to see the coastline, the wonderful coastline of OZZZZZ{splurch}{sniper rifle crack arrives three seconds later}{the sheilas not being amused}
lol you loon - ill update the AAR this weekend, i dont know if im in sync with KyzBP but its time for a few 'management turns' - the job is done in Malaya, Sumatra and Java and all those forces are free to head south - they need some rest first
Ok, good news, bad news and frustration
Firstly, Operation Make KyzBP Use His Ships in an area of My Choosing so they dont pop up somewhere important instead - seems to be working fine - at least 2 squadrons of cruisers and destroyers are now sailing backwards and forwards between Baker and Palmyra using up supplies and fuel and receiving a bit of damage. If nothing else happens and the poor guys die a miserable death in the sand of some unknown island im fairly confident it kept a good pile of Allied warships away from Rabaul and Port Moresby.
Here the 'Baker Bombers' (i think) have been lured to Savaii to bombard 217 office clerks who have no idea where they are. 300km behind them is CarDiv 3 - theyre on an intercept mission to try and catch them as they return to Canton
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and lookee here - Palmyra gets a drive by, presumably the CV/CVs seen at Pearl. 8 fighters and 40 ish bombers drop on the hapless accountants and filing clerks - thats a lot of bombers for 1 CV, so im guessing theres 2, but wheres all the fighters? Has KyzBP stripped the fighters off for base defense somewhere or is this a trap. The irony here is its my trap for him to waste his ships and ordnance on meaningless targets but i cant ignore the fact i know where 1-2 CVs are, with possibly a weakened CAP - CarDiv 1 is tasked to meet up with 2, refuel and sail east to try and find the boys.
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Whilst we're over this side of the map - minelayers set to work on the outlying bases of Japan
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and i have a plan, based on the success of Operation Make KyzBP Use His Ships in an area of My Choosing so they dont pop up somewhere important instead - im beginning to think i could cause some consternation by poking a few spanners in the works up north. Look at Dutch Harbour looking all fat and juicy - i cant get a proper read on the make up of these fleets here, other than theres an AK in there, so KyzBP is either moving people in or supplies in. I fancy some eyes in this area, and then maybe a nibble at Dutch Harbour - i cant go sailing in blind so we need a base far enough away to not get him nervous but close enough to allow the landing of air support and a recon squadron - i elect Amchitka - an air HQ, an air base force and the 70th regiment from Korea are on their way
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Over to the West, mopping abounds - the bulk of the troops arrive in Alor Star and the attack will go in next turn to finish off the Malay peninsular, further west on Sumatra, for some reason KyzBP decided to cimmit suicide and attack me at Sabang. I always had the greater attack value here but was just waiting for disruption and fatigue to come down, its a slaughter and the next turn the troops practically walk into Sabang and kill off the rest of the defenders. Everybody else is heading south to Singapore to be redirected to Oz
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Duck shoot in Java - Soerbaja surrendered at the first attack, the port goes up in flames and countless support ships and auxilliary ships head off to friendlier seas - i assume theyre all heading for Darwin - there are task forces EVERYWHERE! I split as many combat ships as i can into small hunter groups, a few destroyers and a battleship or cruiser and try and kill as much as i can. 2 or 3 very expensive AR - repair ships go down and lots of mine layers and mine sweepers - the chase is still on. Back on land everything heads to our new acquisition to be reassigned - either waiting for Oz or island hopping groups to take all the small plots of land between java and timor
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Surface raiders have already pillaged Moulmein and are headed back there as we speak, they sank a massive AP transport ship last time - one of those converted luxury cruiser numbers. Thai troops are headed west to check out the area and put some eyes on Rangoon - im not that excited about moving into Burma but i dont want KyzBP to think hes getting a freebie up here
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Timors under control - HQs and air support is on the way - im hoping to get the northern oz troops all stationed here and hit the coast in one go from west to east
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the only real bad news - i know i shouldnt have done it, knew it at the time, i just thought, maybeeeeeee it might work - we attacked Clark Field without engineer support - without the support the forts were unbreachable and we smash 12000 men into the ground trying to kill the allies, 5th division is reduced to an assault value of 6 from 479 - arse. We have a massive amount of artillery here - engineers and supplies are en route, until then were turning Clark Field into a car park
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A car park... with broken cars. MUA HA HA HA HA HAAAA! >:D
Geek, just out of curiosity- How long does it take you, on average, to finish a full turn before sending it off?
Quote from: Staggerwing on November 07, 2015, 03:11:29 PM
Geek, just out of curiosity- How long does it take you, on average, to finish a full turn before sending it off?
now its in full swing probably 25 - 30 mins, its best to get into a routine - i start with whatever is at 6 oclock which is now Timor and work clockwise round the map finishing with Port Moresby just east of Timor
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Geek - just wondered if manpower will become an issue as you spread out - are forces not getting a bit thin on the ground?
ive ramped up manpower to the maximum - but that only replaces losses - i can only use the historical forces that were in theatre, theres no 'build division' button which always really bugs me!!
eventually it has to stop yes - i just havent reached that point yet!
He UCG. I saw in an earlier post you comment that you were staying away from Rangoon. That got me wondering, is there a Burma Road in this game and does it have any effect on China's war effort If it exists? Historically it was very important to Japan to cut the "Road" but do you as Nippon need to worry about it at all?
it is in game and it is important - having looked at the available attackers in China im going to march them west and see if we can cause some trouble over there
Thanks for the quick reply. Looking forward to see how this all plays out.
I am mentally hopping up and down and bleeping at the forthcoming invasion not only of Australia (which is the Japanese equivalent of Sealion) but FREAKING CEYLON?? :D :D :D :smitten: :smitten:
(For bonus points, it visually rhymes with Sealion! >:D O0 )
Yeah, we're now reaching the stage of the Japanese war where it starts to become a question of, how much farther dare we push and if so where? The game's inability to create new organizational divisions starts to be a bit of a nail in the boot along with the natural constraint of only having so many fighting men available to push out and hold enough of a defensive wall to terminally screw with the Allies' will to fight.
Also, I adore the new report format. :coolsmiley:
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If it helps any, Kyz was also thinking the artillery results seem borked in his favor when you're shooting at some of his entrenched defenders -- I don't recall if that was the specific place, but I think maybe so. He was going to go looking at the Matrix forum for answers (since it might turn around against him someday, and doesn't seem fair to you meanwhile), but after chewing it around we wondered if the issue might be preplotted counter-battery fire. Still wouldn't seem to make that kind of return hit against you, but... :-\
I'm sure he'd be willing to accept your surrender if it's too much of a problem. >:D ^-^
Man, Catalinas. Who knew PBYs were so dangerous to shipping? Decryption of Western code suggests they've also been surprised at those fat flying boats for these opening two months. (Not sure if that's historical early war or not -- the only time I've ever even read of PBYs doing excellent bomber duty was, as it happens, in the Arctic War, but they've been nibbling hard at you all over the Pacific.)
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Decrypt reports that some Navy analyst with the typically vulgar American codename of "Rod and Berries", is talking about a "Star Track" technology (an advanced navigational aid?) he's worried you may have developed with which you took Male. O0
lmao - i did wonder if hed missed their arrival >:D
so.............
old plans out of the window, new plans drafted -
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No news from Oz? ???
^Only 'G'day mate - send more tinnies'
Quote from: JasonPratt on December 20, 2015, 02:34:40 PM
No news from Oz? ???
things proceed as planned, Townsville has a modicum of resistance so we're bringing in extra forces - Cooktown, thru Cairns and into Bowen are Japanese, Townsville is almost ready for attack. Invaders are heading inland to take other bases - when secure we'll move further south
Townsville: is that near Villageburg? :D
Lol it is pretty generic but having been there and gotten very drunk I can vouch for its authenticity
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Ok, from west to east then............
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Probably doesnt show up on the map clear - the big force northwest of Changsha is heading east over the river to clear those defenders and take that riverside base. Then they will double back and just keep travelling west onto Kunming and into UK held Burma - im unsure what there is to stop this force on the Allied side, if i keep them together its a like a land based KB and i dont think KyzBP is taking China seriously enough to worry, therell be cause for concern when we turn up outside Rangoon or Calcutta though!
To the south near Kukong is an army of about 1300 assault points chasing stragglers and units KyzBP keeps trying to put into previously taken bases - with these now garrisoned and his forces so degraded by battle its just a mopping up job until they turn west at Changsha and head all the way to Nanning
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Ok, the action that has angered me so! Its not a rant, not a peeve at the game mechanics, its a genuine emotional response stirred by the attck here - something i never expected. KyzBP is welcome to all the volcanic rock and ice he can find at the 2 bases hes taken, that didnt even give me pause for concern. What has happened though is that in the security of knowing where the KB is he has started launching air attacks over Hokkaido and sinking resource shipping around this end of the HI - that has made me so angry for reasons i cant fathom, i mean, HELL NO youre not bombing my homes and shipping around Japan, no fking way!! i genuinely feel insulted and im not even Japanese
So........ the KB will bypass Canton and sink and bomb what it can find, head to Truk to top up the planes and fuel and then i think were going in
Fascinating.
Ditto. This is just about the best damned book I've ever read. O0
I'm curious about Paramushiro. Why would that be a trigger, farther away from the Home Islands, but not Ketoi or Shumishiri? I see the little exclamation point on Paramushiro -- did you set that or the game designers? Was that meant to trigger reinforcements against Soviet invasion out of Petropav?
nah, exclamation point is low supply
there is a mechanic in game called the Manchuko Garrison - this has to be over 1000 assault points in the Manchuko region, anything less and theres a dice roll every turn to see if the Russians enter the war
So why would paramushiro call your reserves?
Maybe because the Japanese consider that as an important island in the Kurils with significant military presence?
Found the rules here but not the rationale for Paramushiro.
http://witp-ae.wikia.com/wiki/Emergency_Reinforcements
whilst i in no way condone me having an advantage of rule knowledge over and above what KyzBP may have, there has been a garrison of 12 units posted in Brisbane since i landed on Australia, the turn after i highlight the hex of doom, theres 2 units there and 10 sat on the hex of doom - im assuming, and it doesnt matter who, what or when that someone posted the hex of doom rules in KyzBPs AAR - again, not a problem, but can you guys just keep an eye on what gets transferred between the 2 - im considering going to the Kuriles with everything ive got, i dont need anyone posting 'ooooooooooo you made geek mad' over there because the result of that can only be one thing - the KB is inbound
I've been following both of your threads closely, and as far as I can tell, nobody has given away anything major from either thread. Any comments made in KyzBP's thread have been reflective of his own commentary. In other words, it's obvious that any bloke playing Japan would be pissed at losing islands so close to the Home Islands. Especially at this juncture of the game (early 1942). I don't think anyone has planted any seeds of a train of thought in his head, such as goading him on to indicate you're angry. If I were playing you - and anyone else, for that matter, was - it's common sense to see those landings as a kick to the groin.
However, you do make an excellent point; even if these comments are reflective of KyzBP's own thoughts, or are reflective of the obvious, they should probably be tempered just to be safe. These AARs between players should let the players stew in their own juices without outside observers accidentally dropping tidbits or anything important.
It would be best for anyone in either thread to limit their commentary to questions about how the game works from that particular player's perspective, or just general "GG" comments.
Not that I'm a moderator or anything; I'm just making a suggestion to all.
Quote from: undercovergeek on February 04, 2016, 06:13:15 AM
whilst i in no way condone me having an advantage of rule knowledge over and above what KyzBP may have, there has been a garrison of 12 units posted in Brisbane since i landed on Australia, the turn after i highlight the hex of doom, theres 2 units there and 10 sat on the hex of doom - im assuming, and it doesnt matter who, what or when that someone posted the hex of doom rules in KyzBPs AAR - again, not a problem, but can you guys just keep an eye on what gets transferred between the 2 - im considering going to the Kuriles with everything ive got, i dont need anyone posting 'ooooooooooo you made geek mad' over there because the result of that can only be one thing - the KB is inbound
Lol that was me. I'll shut up.
Quote from: Banzai_Cat on February 04, 2016, 06:24:41 AM
I've been following both of your threads closely, and as far as I can tell, nobody has given away anything major from either thread. Any comments made in KyzBP's thread have been reflective of his own commentary. In other words, it's obvious that any bloke playing Japan would be pissed at losing islands so close to the Home Islands. Especially at this juncture of the game (early 1942). I don't think anyone has planted any seeds of a train of thought in his head, such as goading him on to indicate you're angry. If I were playing you - and anyone else, for that matter, was - it's common sense to see those landings as a kick to the groin.
However, you do make an excellent point; even if these comments are reflective of KyzBP's own thoughts, or are reflective of the obvious, they should probably be tempered just to be safe. These AARs between players should let the players stew in their own juices without outside observers accidentally dropping tidbits or anything important.
It would be best for anyone in either thread to limit their commentary to questions about how the game works from that particular player's perspective, or just general "GG" comments.
Not that I'm a moderator or anything; I'm just making a suggestion to all.
it dont mean it to be as serious as that - its a game after all, and i love the interaction that takes place between the 2, and for you guys seeing both sides must be a blast
but this is the first time i suspect something ive said here has had a direct impact on what KyzBP has done in his game, and if thats changed a move, a target or a strategy itll be a bit annoying!
I haven't commented in this game because I too have found that when I was playing and writing an AAR of an ongoing game that every little comment by an observer could cause me to start second guessing my own and my opponents intent.
One of the excellent parts of watching both sides is seeing how the thought process works out and how it plays into your strategy. Speaking from my own experience above after my game was over and I read both AARs I found that there wasn't a whole lot given away that would have changed my decisions or the outcome. It was more paranoia on my part because it is a very emotional thing to do to roll the dice/go all in on a strategy and its human nature to feel pissed if you think your strategy is being tipped off.
As far as I can see reading both AARs nothing has been communicated to either of you that would indicate provide insight or a concrete advantage. Instead I am fascinated how both of you are trying to "read" what the other player is doing and react and set your tactics accordingly. It does make for a great novel.
Con
Quote from: Con on February 04, 2016, 08:21:46 AM
As far as I can see reading both AARs nothing has been communicated to either of you that would indicate provide insight or a concrete advantage. Instead I am fascinated how both of you are trying to "read" what the other player is doing and react and set your tactics accordingly. It does make for a great novel.
Excellent observation, Con. I enjoy reading both of them fretting at what the other is doing. :coolsmiley:
no worries
im glad youre getting pleasure from my pain!
Here is some Intel though. The allies are planning a massive experimental weapon that can flatten cities. Should be operational in 1945 or so....plan accordingly! ;)
I'll gather my best troops and planes in Hiroshima - we should be safe there :(
There or Nagasaki. Those two cities have the highest Christian populations in the Home Islands, by far.
(Historically, one of the bombs detonated directly above the largest or oldest church in the city. But on the other hand, the US firebombed every other city first; it's entirely possible they were trying to spare Hiroshima and Nagasaki.)
I got the impression Jomni only accidentally crossposted a (very small) comment meant for here, in regard to the Hexodoom -- it's easy to habitually post there.
The Americans are definitely expecting a retaliation to retake the Kuriles, but only as a general inference from being there at all (and raiding your coastline). No one has said anything there about definite action.
No one has said anything about the troops you were planning to send to Ceylon either -- if I'm recalling that detail rightly? If so, how badly does your surprise loss here affect that? I've been as interested in your thrust toward Ceylon as in Kyz's project. And restraining myself from seeming TOO interested on the other thread, just in case that tips him to be more watchful!
the drive by at Ceylon was to see what CAP was operating there for when the attack is under way - the CAP and the numbers involved were poor, it was an unknown mechanic that let the Swordfish through - there really should have been no excuse for that - and im happy we can get in, im thinking after this disaster that its also the last thing KyzBP will be expecting
however,
the east coast of Oz is almost done, i can only go as far as Brisbane and im one town out from that target, but the entire west coast is open to attack, including Perth - so theres two plans, either go from Manilla to Ceylon and then to Perth, which seems to be a natural progression, or just straight for Perth.
The guys from Manilla are also needed for the Kuriles and a few garrison duties
And the steamroller in China is headed for Calcutta
What are the victory conditions, 'geek? Is there an auto-win for you if you occupy X number of cities?
im unsure, at the minute i have a minor victory according to the score sheet, manilla is soon to fall and thats a big points swing towards me - but im not playing for an auto victory, even then you get the chance to carry on, and ill ask KyzBP if he wants to but i honestly dont think ill trigger it - the big points at the moment are Ceylon, Perth, Noumea and some serious points cities in north China that im not heading towards
For what it's worth, looking back over the other thread, I think Kyz was already looking into the question of how to activate more armies to help Australia (for reasons that may and/or may not be obvious. ;) )
Jomni had looked up information on reinforcement activation points for Japan, for our discussion here, so he just dropped a quick note about where he had found that information since Kyz was looking for it, too.
The accident came in that he mentioned, as a matter of comparison (or maybe because he was conveniently reposting to help each side with an information link) where the activation points were in north Japan. Kyz hadn't thought to think of that: he had chosen those islands for other reasons.
But Kyz might have easily been going to see that information anyway in the wiki entry Jomni posted a link to.
I understand the game awards points for capturing Australian territory/cities but historically why would the Japanese have invaded Australia?
I dont understand what they would have gained from putting troops in Australia and supporting them with the large amount of logistics and naval assets required to sustain them? The Australians (even with the US using it as a base) were never really the focus. Additionally I dont see the Japanese being able to hold any significant portion of a landmass that size even if they stripped troops out of China and let the US run rampant in the rest of the theater.
Just interested in your thoughts on driving for VPs versus the actual tactical/historical significance
Con
The only way an invasion of Australia would be strategically feasible, would be if it led the Allies to the negotiating table: we'll pack up and leave Oz if you let us keep the Greater Prosperity Sphere (or significant parts of it).
That isn't
entirely unrealistic, and I suspect that's the rationale about having major VPs there. Even if it only led to Britain, or parts of the Commonwealth, pulling out, or limiting operations in the Pacific, it might be worth trying.
Quote from: undercovergeek on February 05, 2016, 11:16:17 AM
im not playing for an auto victory, even then you get the chance to carry on, and ill ask KyzBP if he wants to but i honestly dont think ill trigger it
For what it's worth -- and maybe this will help offset any minor advantage Kyz gained from the blip in communications earlier -- Kyz is worried about an auto-victory trigger, and thinks you're aiming for it.
Alternately, the Japanese might have benefited from temporarily holding important Oz ports, although that wouldn't be a VP-equivalent strategy.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proposed_Japanese_invasion_of_Australia_during_World_War_II
QuoteJapan never actually planned an invasion, but the fear of one led Australia to form a close reliance on the United States to protect itself.
Meanwhile, in Tokyo the secret Navy proposal was opposed by the Japanese Army and Prime Minister Hideki Tojo, who regarded it as being unfeasible given Australia's geography and the strength of the Allied defences. Instead, the Japanese military adopted a strategy of isolating Australia from the United States by advancing through the South Pacific. This offensive was abandoned following the Battle of the Coral Sea and Battle of Midway in May and June 1942, and all subsequent Japanese operations in the vicinity of Australia were undertaken to slow the advance of Allied forces.
...
The Army and Navy's calculations of the number of troops needed to invade Australia differed greatly and formed a central area of discussion. In December 1941 the Navy calculated that a force of three divisions (between 45,000 and 60,000 men) would be sufficient to secure Australia's north-eastern and north-western coastal areas. In contrast, the Army calculated that a force of at least ten divisions (between 150,000 and 250,000 men) would be needed. The Army's planners estimated that transporting this force to Australia would require 1.5 to 2 million tons of shipping, which would have required delaying the return of requisitioned merchant shipping. This invasion force would have been larger than the entire force used to conquer South-East Asia. The Army also rejected the Navy's proposal of limiting an invasion of Australia to securing enclaves in the north of the country as being unrealistic given the likely Allied counter-offensives against these positions. Due to its experience in China the Army believed that any invasion of Australia would have to involve an attempt to conquer the entire Australian continent, something which was beyond Japan's abilities.
...
On 14 February, the day before Singapore was captured, the Army and Navy sections of the Imperial General Headquarters again discussed invading Australia and during this discussion Captain Tomioka argued that it would be possible to take Australia with a "token force". This statement was labelled "so much gibberish" in the Imperial General Headquarters' secret diary. General Tomoyuki Yamashita:
He said that after he had taken Singapore, he wanted to discuss with Tojo a plan for the invasion of Australia... Tojo turned down the plan, making the excuse of lengthened supply lines, which would be precarious and open to enemy attack...
The dispute between the Army and Navy was settled in late February with a decision to isolate rather than invade Australia. The Army continued to maintain its view that invading Australia was impractical, but agreed to extend Japan's strategic perimeter and cut Australia off from the US by invading Fiji, Samoa, and New Caledonia in the so-called Operation FS. The question of whether to invade Australia was discussed by Imperial Headquarters for the last time on 27 February and in this meeting the Army stated that it believed that Australia was defended by a 600,000-strong military force. During a further meeting held on 4 March the Imperial Headquarters formally agreed to a "Fundamental Outline of Recommendations for Future War Leadership" which relegated the option of invading Australia as a "future option" only if all other plans went well. This plan was presented to the Emperor by Prime Minister Hideki Tōjō and in effect ended discussion of invading Australia. The FS Operation was not implemented, however, due to Japan's defeats in the Battle of the Coral Sea and Battle of Midway and was canceled on 11 July 1942.
...
The only Japanese force which landed in Australia during the war was a small reconnaissance party which landed in the remote Kimberley region of Western Australia on 19 January 1944 to investigate reports that the Allies were building large bases in the region. This party consisted of four Japanese officers on board a small fishing boat and it investigated the York Sound region for a day and a night before returning to Kupang in Timor on 20 January. While the junior officer who commanded the party suggested using 200 Japanese prison inmates to launch a guerrilla campaign in Australia when he returned to Japan in February, nothing came of this and the officer was posted to other duties. According to historian Peter Stanley, "No historian of standing believes the Japanese had a plan to invade Australia, there is not a skerrick of evidence."
in the game itself ive invaded Oz simply because i dont seek to replicate the war in the pacific by taking the sphere and sitting and building reinforcements for the next 3 years whilst dieing of boredom - its a chance to play high stakes with KyzBP and see how far i can push the Japanese forces
historically, i imagine like JP said - you can have sydney back if you leave us alone in Indonesia, plus holding Oz would have been a major PITA for the USA, i can only imagine the complexities of trying to run the Pacific island take back without been able to use Oz and thats just in the game, its an awful long supply chain from Fiji to San Francisco
You have to remember though that the Japanese garrison and naval forces in those islands would not exist. leading to a vacuum that the US could rapidly fill with its additional men and equipment.
Plus holding onto Australia would be the noose Japan would be putting around its own neck on the hope of a bargaining chip. While that may have been the strategy since Australia was so sparsely populated it would be relatively easy to pull back further south for the Australian forces, consolidating supply chain lines and factories like the Russians did. I suspect that if the Japanese did invade Australia it would turn into a desert version of the Eastern Front with sun stroked starving Japanese wandering around endless parched deserts being plagued by better supplied Australian partisans. The navy would be running at full scale operations to keep supply lines even marginally open to multiple sites on a continent and the US Navy would be free to pick and choose its battles since the Japanese are forced into a linear strategy of funneling everything into Australia.
Quote from: undercovergeek on February 05, 2016, 10:37:33 AM
the drive by at Ceylon was to see what CAP was operating there for when the attack is under way - the CAP and the numbers involved were poor, it was an unknown mechanic that let the Swordfish through - there really should have been no excuse for that - and im happy we can get in, im thinking after this disaster that its also the last thing KyzBP will be expecting
Aren't Swordfish what did the Italian fleet in at Taranto? And the Bismarck? Tough obsolete little planes. Maybe the game mechanic is that the Swordfish always have to get through :)
That's because there was no air cover at Taranto or over the Bismark. The Zeros should have ripped the Swordfish apart. My step-grandfather was a gunner/radio operator on a Swordfish doing the convoy runs to the USSR up around Norway. He never really talked about the war but I did ask him if he was aware of how obsolete the Swordfish was at the time. As usual he brushed it off with a joke by saying that the Swordfish was so slow that the Germans could never stay behind it long enough for a shot. Tellingly, he did put in for a transfer to the Asian theatre right around the time that the Japanese had taken Singapore and sunk Z-Force. He said he was sure he was going to die so he might as well do it somewhere warm.
They were my biggest fear whilst taking Singapore - even if 1 gets through the cap they always manage to get a torp on target - I'd love to know what their skill level is - I had 36 zeros on cap against 8 swords and they all came through despite their escorts getting murdered - I wonder if the escorts were at a significantly different height
The wiki report (doubtless from somewhere else) doesn't conflict with my estimate: taking the continent would be impractical if not impossible in real life, so the only rationale would be if it contributed to some kind of political deal (which would likely fail, but the Japanese in their ideology at the time might not have thought so -- obviously they weren't thinking of a temporary partial invasion for political bargaining either!)
I do suspect the supply situation, at least on the coastal areas, would be better than was expected, simply because Australia is huge and already has something approaching self-sufficient supplies. Whether that could be exploited by a temporary invasion, or by anything less than a long-term investment, I don't know.
My suspicion is that if Yamamoto had chosen the alternate plan to Midway, going for New Caledonia to cut the Australian supply line. This would have led to a real fleet action that would have been very bloody.
Note to self - do not process turns and watch rugby at the same time - spotted an incoming combat force at rockhampton and forgot to put some ships on standby - the 146th and 33rd infantry regiment now decorate the bottom of the harbour in rockhampton
In real life terms a cruiser force came into the bay and sunk all the ships that were boarding men, I think in reality it would have gone 'boys there's a cruiser coming round the bend, you better get off the ships' instead 8000 men watched the firework display and went to their doom in 15 feet of water
Quote from: undercovergeek on February 08, 2016, 04:24:18 AM
Note to self - do not process turns and watch rugby at the same time - spotted an incoming combat force at rockhampton and forgot to put some ships on standby - the 146th and 33rd infantry regiment now decorate the bottom of the harbour in rockhampton
In real life terms a cruiser force came into the bay and sunk all the ships that were boarding men, I think in reality it would have gone 'boys there's a cruiser coming round the bend, you better get off the ships' instead 8000 men watched the firework display and went to their doom in 15 feet of water
Ouch.
Double Ouch! Damned Rugby. I hope it was a good match at least.
Uffda. That's a rough loss. How does that affect your offensive potential in eastern Oz?
Quote from: Airborne Rifles on February 08, 2016, 10:31:46 AM
Uffda. That's a rough loss. How does that affect your offensive potential in eastern Oz?
theyd only just got here so not much, they were to be used to help in taking Brisbane but thats all but abandoned now
Having calmed down and realised responding in anger with 6 fully armed CVs may not be a good idea ive come up with a long term strategy at last
Manilla should fall in a week, we have 4000 assault points in the city, 1000 heading in from the north and 1000 heading in from the south - when she falls 75% of the forces are heading west under the cover of all the IJNs battleships, cruisers and flat tops and were taking Ceylon. From there we will head south and occupy the west coast of Oz adding Perth to the list of interesting places for Japanese officers to go surfing. The other 25% will head to the Kuriles and take the islands back and will remain there as a garrison. The Oz forces will be divided into garrison troops and the remainder of the troops will head east to take and garrison vital Pacific islands breaking KyzBPs chain from America to Sydney. Then we will ship out engineers and air support and make the islands strongholds - all by July 42 hopefully, then we wait.
In China the steamroller should reach Burma in about a month, then it will roll up the coast and into Calcutta and head west through India
Its a plan, and if i had one id chew a cigar
Quote from: undercovergeek on February 11, 2016, 03:10:10 PM
Its a plan, and if i had one id chew a cigar
LOL. I like it! Here's hoping it works out.
Quote from: undercovergeek on February 08, 2016, 04:24:18 AM
Note to self - do not process turns and watch rugby at the same time - spotted an incoming combat force at rockhampton and forgot to put some ships on standby - the 146th and 33rd infantry regiment now decorate the bottom of the harbour in rockhampton
In real life terms a cruiser force came into the bay and sunk all the ships that were boarding men, I think in reality it would have gone 'boys there's a cruiser coming round the bend, you better get off the ships' instead 8000 men watched the firework display and went to their doom in 15 feet of water
I am reading Ian Tolls second volume of the Pacific War and reading about the horrific naval battles during the Solomon campaign a result like the one above is not out of the realm of reality.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0393080641/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_1?pf_rd_p=1944687642&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=0393343413&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0AJTF454DE66DYW53E5T
Sifting through the garbled inhuman mess the round eyes are using as a code (based on some equally barbarous native language of theirs), your analysts think the debacle at Rockhampton may have actually been an accident borne of the incapability of the US Navy at understanding their codes either! -- the task force was supposed to have gone somewhere else instead, and read their orders wrongly!
seriously? the death of 8000 finely honed Nipponese warriors was the result of someone saying 'what? this harbour, or that one? this one? that one? whos on one? :knuppel2: :knuppel2: :knuppel2:
historians will later note the sinking of the Enterprise, Wasp and Lexington when 3 sub captains forgot which way they were going
goddamit, im madder now than i was then
Mr Pratt, would you please accompany these two men from ONI to the automobile waiting outside? We have a few questions for you back at Pearl...
I pride myself on finding spoilers that ultimately don't mean anything. :D
Quote from: undercovergeek on February 11, 2016, 07:04:29 PM
seriously? the death of 8000 finely honed Nipponese warriors was the result of someone saying 'what? this harbour, or that one? this one? that one? whos on one? :knuppel2: :knuppel2: :knuppel2:
It's either that or rugby. Your choice. O0
A December morn
The summer sailors shiver
A nip in the air
BC, why is spring like a Japanese aerobatic flying team?
There's always a little nip in the air.
Quote from: besilarius on February 14, 2016, 10:01:52 PM
BC, why is spring like a Japanese aerobatic flying team?
There's always a little nip in the air.
That's a really wrong (yet funny) Haiku I read in an issue of National Lampoon magazine many years ago and never forgot, written about the attack on Pearl Harbor.
I miss the NL mag. The Letters to the Editor column was always my favorite.
more details to come but Manilla falls, 37000 prisoners for the camps - Operation Occupy Ceylon and Kill all the Fkng Flatops there is on
How is your bayonet inventory?
pointy
I'm just as jazzed about the Ceylon operation as Kyz's Arctic operation; maybe moreso! O0
As French Foreign Minister Talleyrand once noted to Napoleon, "Sire, you can do anything in the world with bayonets except sit on them."
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How long do you think will it take for your China forces will reach Burma?
Quote from: jomni on February 24, 2016, 03:21:06 AM
How long do you think will it take for your China forces will reach Burma the Middle East?
FTFY
;D
Garbled radio code intercepts suggest there is indeed some gnashing about the lost transports in the pernicious invasion daring to use Imperial territory as a base against the Home Islands.
Oooh, Bundaberg! I like their sarsaparilla. Not as much as some others, but they brew it from a ginger beer base and add a unique sweetening -- something unique to Australia perhaps? I haven't tasted it anywhere else but in their sarsa. (Well, and in their ginger beer, but it's more noticeable in the sarsa.)
So, did I understand the Rangoon/Pegu plan to be you're going to cut them off from supply and just kind of raid around the neighborhood while they simmer in their juices?
Quote from: jomni on February 24, 2016, 03:21:06 AM
How long do you think will it take for your China forces will reach Burma?
its 20 hexes to Lashio at 1/3 of a hex a day, so at least 60 turns - 2 months of game time and prob 4 months of real life - he'll know theyre coming at with about 8 hexes left because they couldnt be heading anywhere else - once that north western corner is clear the decision will be to either go hard west and head for Calcutta or go south west and clear out Rangoon, logic says Rangoon - i can think of no commander that would want that many enemy forces behind him, but then theres the juicy east of India
fat fingers have led to a slight problem in Brisbane - we bombarded the city to get a look at the defensive value of the troops, on completion of another Manilla like f*** up of a bombardment i cancelled the bombardment and went for a defensive stance to wait for reinforcements - what I in fact pressed was deliberate attack, knowing it was a losing battle i had to watch 3000 IJA soldiers die to about 500 Ozzie ones - our assault points are now actually lower than the defenders so were in trouble - for the last couple of turns weve been desperately trying to pull back to Maryborough but naval and air bombardments are slowing our progress, Maryborough also just fell to a KyzBP counter attack - Oz needs a bit of regrouping and sorting out - the reinforcement TF just left Tokyo
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The unholy gibberish of the enemy encryptions cleared briefly, long enough to decode the following phrase: "Total War Australia, better than Rome, too."
It's hard to tell whether this signals an escalation, or an acknowledgment of Imperial domination despite the loss at Brisbane, or perhaps simply propaganda about the one victory there.
there arent that many units in the Oz army - i can only assume KyzBP has stripped everything south of Brisbane thinking i fear landing there - which will come as a surprise soon
one of the things i love about PC games, especially PBEM wargames is the opportunity they give the player to sit over a drink of tea and scratch their chin about a certain strategy - and that has been the majority of todays down time activity
why is there a battle in the south pacific?
because KyzBP is trying to make an uninterupted line from West coast USA to east coast Australia - to move men and supplies from that end of the map to this end of the map but cannot in one hop therefore he needs a secure middle area to refuel - then thats fine KyzBP can have his islands to refuel - i will take the destination, the end of the line - I will be launching operation sheila in approx 8 days - the might of the IJA, victors at Manilla will be headed to Sydney where we will take the entire Southern section of Australia, isolate Brisbane, and then set off for Perth and the west coast, then Ceylon, the end of the campaign should coincide with the arrival of the largest army on the map on the outskirts of India
well, its that or Pearl Harbour and the west coast of the USA :o :o
Guess I didn't think about that last bit. You can really land on the West Coast of the U.S.?
Ominous. Do you think you have enough strength to secure all of southeast/west Australia and still continue on towards Ceylon?
(triple checking to make sure I'm posting in the right thread!)
you may laugh, i nearly posted that in KyzBPs thread!!
I have approx 7500 assault value to spend on any expedition - Australia has approx 2000 to oppose me and 1000 of that is in Brisbane, Ceylon unless its been used as a mass reinforcement farm has nothing more than 750 - there is enough strength at Manilla to take Pearl but it doesnt get me the benefit of Oz or India apart from shock value, that or i can work my way back across the Kuriles and into Canada but i like the idea of owning Oz and marching on India at the same time
Quote from: undercovergeek on February 25, 2016, 01:16:31 PM
you may laugh, i nearly posted that in KyzBPs thread!!
That would have been quite the intelligence coup! ;D
Yes, the game phase has now been decisively shifting from "Spread Out Like A Virus While The US Is Kinda Weak" to "March Superstacks Around Punching Things While The US Is Kinda Weak".
I think back to a few weeks ago, when Geek in all sincerity thought he was playing a careful, conservative game, and I laugh and laugh and laugh. :2funny:
But, that's the way to win this game. The Empire has to hit hard while the hitting is good, and harder than the Empire historically managed to hit. Taking Australia and India == hitting harder. Doesn't strictly matter if the US takes some points back if Geek is still racking up points faster than Kyz can take them back.
(Well, so long as Kyz doesn't figure out a way to cripple the superstacks logistically.)
Quote from: undercovergeek on February 25, 2016, 08:44:05 AM
fat fingers have led to a slight problem in Brisbane - we bombarded the city to get a look at the defensive value of the troops, on completion of another Manilla like f*** up of a bombardment i cancelled the bombardment and went for a defensive stance to wait for reinforcements - what I in fact pressed was deliberate attack, knowing it was a losing battle i had to watch 3000 IJA soldiers die to about 500 Ozzie ones - our assault points are now actually lower than the defenders so were in trouble - for the last couple of turns weve been desperately trying to pull back to Maryborough but naval and air bombardments are slowing our progress, Maryborough also just fell to a KyzBP counter attack - Oz needs a bit of regrouping and sorting out - the reinforcement TF just left Tokyo
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Blame it on an overzealous subordinate.
Heh. I just clicked on this thread, having missed the last 14 pages.
Two things:
1. Man, that map looks fantastic! Gotta find that mod!
2. If the Japanese are in control of Rockhampton, the Allies have done something very, very wrong. :knuppel2:
Or the Imperial Forces have done some things very right.
(Or Australia' northeast/east coast was accidentally designed as a lot easier to take than would have been expected in real life.)
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An arousing plan.
...ROUSING! I meant a rousing plan. O0 8)
I think the first way you said it was more correct. ^-^
I am loving these AARs.
Never, ever, ever going to buy this. Too much work mastering the rules and logistics. If I want to work this hard, I'll do consulting and get paid.
But I'm most appreciative of the two of you showing the progress of the war.
I've read your AAR. I've read a part of the other one. Thanks for posting - very interesting.
You might want to step back and think: What is my strategy? How do I win (or lose)? Where am I strong and weak?
im weak east of Rabaul and the Home islands - the home islands were emptied to ensure the capture of Oz and Manilla, thats why the Kuriles are still Allied - everything west of there im fairly happy with - i have enough of a mobile garrison in china to let the big army loose on burma and India, i have enough points to take Australia - the KB is at full strength and will only be used where necessary - im not dividing it again, if a target is not worth all of the KB then its not worth the KB at all
The sopac islands were only ever taken to prevent a clean sweep and free up KyzBPs units to use somewhere else - as it stands 3 naval guard units, an air unit and a base force have tied up approx 8 cruisers, 2 battleships and a heap of destroyers, and recently destroyed a marine unit - these would be running all over the Kuriles, Australia or Sumatra but instead they have to stay home to harass what are essentially sacrificial units
i cant win, its impossible, but i can get a morale victory by at least forcing an auto victory, going neeena neeena to KyzBP and then carrying on as the might of the US comes west
I'd like to see if you can pull it off. O0
Quote from: undercovergeek on March 11, 2016, 05:31:12 AM
im weak east of Rabaul and the Home islands - the home islands were emptied to ensure the capture of Oz and Manilla, thats why the Kuriles are still Allied - everything west of there im fairly happy with - i have enough of a mobile garrison in china to let the big army loose on burma and India, i have enough points to take Australia - the KB is at full strength and will only be used where necessary - im not dividing it again, if a target is not worth all of the KB then its not worth the KB at all
The sopac islands were only ever taken to prevent a clean sweep and free up KyzBPs units to use somewhere else - as it stands 3 naval guard units, an air unit and a base force have tied up approx 8 cruisers, 2 battleships and a heap of destroyers, and recently destroyed a marine unit - these would be running all over the Kuriles, Australia or Sumatra but instead they have to stay home to harass what are essentially sacrificial units
i cant win, its impossible, but i can get a morale victory by at least forcing an auto victory, going neeena neeena to KyzBP and then carrying on as the might of the US comes west
I agree that you cannot beat the USA. The only question is, can you roll up enough wins in 1941-1942 to have a realistic chance of a negotiated peace? When the US Essex class flattops roll out, and the subs, and the planes, and the better planes, Japan does not have the industrial might to win.
I'm reading Shattered Sword currently, and it changes the narrative of Midway and the consequences to the IJN from losing 4 carriers. It is fascinating.
I think Geek stands a good chance at forcing an auto-win.
I'm curious, Geek, about how you see your supply situation to the Australia campaign, compared to a supply situation for the coming Ceylon campaign.
The barbaric propaganda of the enemy rears its head again, as the United States sends out a message baldly announcing that Japan has surrendered and the war is over.
Even their attempts at lies are beneath contempt, however, as they cynically went right on describing Japanese victories all over the theater in their April 1 report.
The fact that American people even tolerate such nonsense shows that their thoughts are completely irrational and undisciplined, bouncing from one idea to another, apparently for the sake of novelty (or what they call the "news").
im assuming that report coincided with April 1st >:(
smiles will soon be eradicated - Task Force Augusta and Perth are almost ready to leave Singapore
I hope the presence of the KB has set allied feet scampering thinking an attack on Ceylon was imminent
Having lived in Perth for many years and having lots of friends living there reading about your invasion force has me more than a little nostalgic and concerned
In fact Perth did build some giant naval guns on Rottsnest just off shore during WWII. Your strategy is bold (but I dont think realistic due to logistics). I cant wish you luck but I am watching with interest
Con
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rottnest_Island
http://www.backyardbattlefields.com/rotto-guns-rottnest-island-western-australia/
Cue Ash's final words from Alien in 3... 2...
Quote from: undercovergeek on March 12, 2016, 12:12:12 PM
im assuming that report coincided with April 1st >:(
;D :D
We may be driving the American leaders to insane levels of fruitless threats. Our codebreakers report they want to make a maximum number of Japanese cry by flushing the children's favorite giant sock puppet down the toilet.
Admittedly, it's possible this is code within code for something else. But it may also just be an example of the tendency of Americans to be what they call "bullies" in insisting on fighting dishonorably against those who are weaker than they are.
lol, im lost!
update after next turn, would have been this one but i forgot screenshots, needless to say there has been tears of rage and rejoicing - i chased a pair of CVs round the coral sea for 4 days getting bombed every frikking morning only to finally intercept them and attack without using the long lances :'(
there has been pillaging off the coast of Sumatra and Java and Attack Force Perth and Augusta are nearing the NW coast of Oz
At the minute i cant win the airwar over the Kuriles, with glee i have sent 120 Nells and Bettys back to Oz and Singapore - lets try and sink some stuff. Instead i can get a decent LRCAP over the coast - a triple BB task force is on its way to Hokkaido lets try and not get sunk
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Sumatra - im having a lot of luck catching AP and AK task forces around here, particular mention goes to TF7 headed by the Fuso - the game doesnt keep track of tonnage sunk like Panzer General follows unit kills but shes responsible for a lot of future dive wrecks round here. Its a short hop to Soerbaja or Singapore to resupply and back out again - its merely a vindictive ship hunt, i have noone to land at Sumatra or Java to take these bases back yet, theres higher priorities at the moment, but its still fun sinking Allied ships. To the North East the BB TF heading for the Kuriles
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Off the coast of North West Oz, task force Perth and task force Augusta are finally making good way - i started them off with the arty and engineers following but this kept slowing down the lead invasion force - theyve now all been given there own nav orders and heading out, probably half of the offensive power of the IJN is here escorting the fleets and the KB is meeting up with them now after picking up more Zeroes from Soerbaja. I estimate maybe 6 more turns before we're off the coast of Perth, and maybe another 4 until were at Augusta. If i think the plan has been discovered ill just invade Perth and block up the railway line one hex east to prevent incoming reinforcements, if not the plans the same - hang off Perth until Augusta falls
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The Kuriles - a mess - its a bit of a conundrum but the answer seems to be to overwhelm the Allied fighters and whittle there numbers down - LBA against the CVs isnt working - the airfields arent big enough to get 100 bombers en masse into the air, but 50 - 60 fighters can, and although i expect them to lose if i can get those 60 over a battleship task force we should be able to hurt some landing craft or maybe catch the CVs with the TF - the BB TF is on its way from Java
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The land KB finally has Burma in its binoculars as it climbs the mountains - whilst been constantly aware of the massed troops at Rangoon and Pegu we were going to head straight to India but KyzBP seems to have made my mind up by shifting some troops from Rangoon east this turn. That splits up the quite formidable number based at Rangoon - i can only imagine hes after Pegus troops and then a thrust toward Moulmein - that will be his undoing - i still dont think he knows this group is coming, he knows its there, he dies by it every 3 turns but i dont think he perceives the threat
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Eastern Oz - a bit of a mess brought about by over reaching - the IJA has been in and out of both Maryborough and Bundaberg and voluntarily retreated to Bundaberg to reinforce. Theres a constant air bombardment and sea bombardment but to be fair its taught me a lot about my own tactics - its having no significant effect on morale or disruption. 2 turns ago disruption was 65 due to two failed attacks at, having rested for 2 days despite have been pounded by air and sea disruption is 32.
Despite KyzBPs best efforts with his two CVs the reinforcements finally arrived at Rockhampton and are marching to the rescue. Theres 700 assault points at Bundaberg now, against KyzBPs 500-550, the reinforcements are another 1800 points. Ive recently discovered that the AIs priority is base repairs, you cannot build fortresses whilst there is base damage. KyzBP has been able to build the forts instantly after each attack at Bundaberg - so weve been bombing the base and there is 30% airfield damage, whilst this is present the forts cant go up again - well continue bombing until the reinforcements get there and then we will attack again - hopefully a successful attack there will shatter any coherent resistance against a march on Brisbane again.
The red cross refers to the two CVs - theyre out there somewhere, Nells have been sent to Rockhampton for naval patrol duties, if they see the CVs there are others to launch an air attack - nervous but good times for the IJ forces right now
Hey, you went back to vanilla graphics!
Don't get me wrong, I really like the vanilla graphics, but I'm going to miss the alternate gfx pack: it looked nice, too, and made a good visual distinction between posting in one thread and posting in another. :coolsmiley:
The round eyes do curse the Chinese Land KB on a regular basis, but seem resigned now to its existence, operation, and inevitable Imperial victories. O0
Laptop - new gfx
Home PC - olde style
This game is sort of mind boggling. One allies have successfully invaded the Northern Kuriles.
The IJA is striking Australia with a vengeance.
How in the world are both of you keeping your logistics train working successfully? The Kuriles are close to...... Asia, Russia and still awfully far away from the Alaskan Islands. Northern Japan is way, far away from any supply source for the USA outside of Russia. The weather in the Northern Pacific is a bitch. Do the allied forces get supply from Stalin???? How is this working out?
Given the IJA, land based air, and the IJN I can at least comprehend the Australian Operation. But Northern Japan leaves me scratching my head.
Clearly these two are Masters of game, Titans of Logistics and Strategy and neither play by the rules of Conventional Warfare. This is the King Kong vs Godzilla of the Strategy Gaming World. The only question is who is who? I mean weren't both monsters Japanese? ;D
I'm not sure how closely the game models weather effects on supply. But Kyz's supply route should be significantly shorter, and his supply situation has somewhat simplified thanks to UGeek's actions in recent months. Plus Geek still has to worry about raiders of various kinds -- even striking from the Kurls! -- whereas at the moment Kyz can operate along the northern arc with impunity.
QuoteThe Kuriles - a mess - its a bit of a conundrum but the answer seems to be to overwhelm the Allied fighters and whittle there numbers down - LBA against the CVs isnt working - the airfields arent big enough to get 100 bombers en masse into the air, but 50 - 60 fighters can, and although i expect them to lose if i can get those 60 over a battleship task force we should be able to hurt some landing craft or maybe catch the CVs with the TF - the BB TF is on its way from Java
From your perspective this looks like it could be developing into something like a Guadalcanal in the north. Do you have plans for trying to reoccupy these islands or are you planning to just do drive-by's with the BB?
KyzBP has, depending on what way you look at it broken the game or become a jedi master at Allied warfare - by overloading 3 CVs with fighters theres a huge CAP umbrella in the area, from the bases and the ships - whilst this has severely hindered any offensive carrier operations elsewhere it prevents me doing anything until i can come up with a solution to this conundrum
There arent enough large airfields within range of where he has landed to mount a coordinated fighter/bomber attack - from anywhere else on the map i would send the bombers from one airfield and the fighters from another but theres no back up field on Hokkaido - after 3 seperate multi day attacks I lose too many unescorted bombers. The next attempt was to ground the bombers and put up a fighter force - this met with more success but as i cannot sweep his CV force im left sweeping a land base that then draws the CV cap and losses are pretty much one to one, 100 of mine versus 100 of his will after a number of days deplete his force but it will be a phyrric victory of sorts leaving either me or KyzBP with 20 fighters in the area.
The next plan then is to bring in some floating big guns to bombard the airfields and put them under a CAP on retreat - its been done against me many times - the ships come from nowhere, bomb at night and retire to the safety of a well CAPped harbour during the day - the only trick is getting in and out without meeting offensive ships - if i do i suspect DDs and maybe the odd cruiser - staging from Tokyo i can put up some BBs and see what we can damage on the fields - this leaves only the CV cap to deal with that i believe will have to go home to replenish as theres no level 7 airfields nearby - this is what i need to replenish
At the minute the priority is Augusta, Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Canberra and Sydney - i need 4 times KyzBPs score on any date in 1943, thats 8 months away - that will be the 'allies really would have surrendered by now' trigger that at least makes me feel like i beat history. Then we go get the Kuriles, and maybe Pearl ^-^
Thanks for the response. I can't help seeing the parallels between the situation for you in the Kuriles (minus the carrier CAP) and the back-and-forth that actually did occur at Guadalcanal, with the Japanese sending cruisers, destroyers, and BBs down the Slot to bombard Henderson Field at night, then retreating back into the protective CAP of Rabaul during the day.
BTW, Neptune's Inferno is a great book about the naval battle of Guadalcanal that describes this dynamic very well: http://www.amazon.com/Neptunes-Inferno-U-S-Navy-Guadalcanal/dp/0553385127/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1458671201&sr=8-1&keywords=neptune%27s+inferno (http://www.amazon.com/Neptunes-Inferno-U-S-Navy-Guadalcanal/dp/0553385127/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1458671201&sr=8-1&keywords=neptune%27s+inferno)
thats exactly how its going to turn out i think :o
Historically it ended with the more modern US BBs (USS South Dakota and USS Washington, I believe) eventually intercepting and sinking the Japanese BB Kirishima on one of her night runs, but up to that point the Japanese were able to do a lot of damage with their surface raiders.
Also, the range from Rabaul to Guadalcanal was such that the Japanese air attacks suffered from many of the same problems of coordination between fighters and bombers that you report here, IIRC.
I am super curious to see Geek's anti-Kurly plan in action! (And the continuation of the push for an early autovic vs. Oz.)
Yes. Use fast BBs to sneak at night and bombard. Good luck!
The Tokyo Express-- Northern Leg.
I have a slight preference for foregone historical losers in a wargame to angulate a victory instead, so while I'm certainly cheering Kyz's various moves (sometimes a lot, like his invasion of ultra-north Japan), I'll be happy if Geek can force a technical win. :smitten:
Ok, epic update - well, not so epic, theres only 4 main areas of operations at the moment so we'll take a tour -
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Eastern Oz - probably the most frustrating of the areas at the moment. Starting at the top and working up - Bundaberg, in the hex is about 1000 points of assault troops, bombed daily by at least 8-15 sorties from bases further south (the worst part of watching the replay when the turn is received - click, bombers, click, bombers, click, bombers, click, bombers) - now, heres an interesting tidbit, fairplay to Sir KyzBP and the RAAF and their brave efforts but in what can only be seen as a fault in the game its having ZERO effect on the troops - after 3 weeks of continuous bombing my mens fatigue is at 4/100 and disruption is 0/100 - it has certainly changed my approach to bombing ground troops elsewhere. To the west is 2000 points of assault troops, they were due to arrive in Bundaberg this turn but took a detour southwest and will now march east into the hex. Looking at the map i see theres no road southeast from directly above B'berg so imagine thats why they turned. Anyway - probably 3 more days of marching and we'll be in - I'm hoping this is the core of the Oz defenders as i cant see us losing the fight - therell be a few days of attacks while the forts come down and then we can chase the defeated troops all the way to B'bane.
Further North, R'hampton. Chock full of construction engineers - the airfield and port and fortifications here have been built up to hold anything we have, aircraft have been moved due to uncontested bombardments from KyzBP - our navy is busy elsewhere
Further North to T'ville. Again, a huge base for us, built up to replenish any fleet we land and any planes we use. Most of the areas planes are here but KyzBP has recently found us here so we may move to Port Moresby - im trying to find a place where they can rest and replenish, its not that numbers are low, just that the men are tired and need a rest.
Just off Cairns is a fleet of DDs and cruisers - it looks like the Oz navy has seen something juicy somewhere, although im not sure what - there are a few auto convoy fleets bringing fuel and supplies from Truk but they are 1 or 2 ship convoys - theres no big fleet out there - nevertheless it gives us a rest from the endless bombardments
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To South Oz, an area of tears and hair tearing. Ill start at the beginning - we sent a surface combat force to Port Augusta to make sure there were no defenders or transport fleets mooching around the area before the landing force gets there. KyzBP had some bombers on standby and found the TF - the damage isnt anything we cant handle but the TF has run out of fuel and can only withdraw 1 hex at at time. A few turns later the landing force arrives and what do you know? It runs out of fuel 6 hexes short of the target, again it will advance but only 1 hex at a time - both TFs fuel values displayed they would make it to this area with no problem when we set off so shrug to whats happened here. I sortied the landing force and the KB to meet in the same hex so they could share some fuel, it gives the landing force just enough to get there and the KB just enough to make it back to base - we should be ok, the limping TF can be left to limp - fuel is on its way. In Albany the Perth invaders are on their way, arty is following - all is well here EXCEPT an idiot decision to put all the defending surface combat ships into port - so in his own mini version of Pearl KyzBP bombed Albanys port and hit all 6 BBs - very minor damage but still enough to piss me off - theyve all been sortied and are heading home to Soerbaja for fuel, upgrades and mischeivous stuff
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Northern OZ - Not much doing really, Wyndham has built up its port enough to take a decent sized landing force to take Darwin, but its low on the list. Right on the shoulder is a TF bringing an Air HQ to Albany ready for Perth, to provide decent support for the invasion - once Perth and the surrounding towns are neutralised this entire coast should be trouble free for a while - we'll see
Thats Oz, next up Java, Sumatra, China and Japan and the story of a resurrected fleet sent back to hell again
Thanks for the update. Really enjoying this dual AAR.
youre welcome - ill add the other bits later today otherwise its 'wall o'text'
Seeing a bunch of Japanese flags on Australia tickles my every heartstring.
1.) Yeah, the bombing results are definitely weird -- not so much for casualties (which if I recall are a few dozen every day, which for small bombers in relatively small numbers like this isn't too unreal) -- but for lack of disruption and exhaustion. I might even buy lack of disruption depending on how large and how well dug in your troops are. But lack of exhaustion? Did your troops dig out a dwarven kingdom to live in while waiting to make the final assault?? Granted, this is the Japanese, but still...
2.) My guess about the running out of fuel, is that maybe you ran into storms or had the fleet maneuvers set to zigzag or some combination of things like that. I'd have to be less lazy and actually look at the rulebook to see if that sort of thing is accounted for, but that's my guess. It's also possible that some level of error is built into such estimations, which perhaps varies based on other organizational factors.
Geek, what are the implications for the force you are putting ashore on SW OZ if the transports bringing them there are running out of fuel. Will you be able to sustain them? Or are your resupply freighters going to run out of fuel as well?
Quote from: Airborne Rifles on April 10, 2016, 12:15:10 PM
Geek, what are the implications for the force you are putting ashore on SW OZ if the transports bringing them there are running out of fuel. Will you be able to sustain them? Or are your resupply freighters going to run out of fuel as well?
theyve landed with a s*** ton of supplies - im guessing theres a lot of concern about supply chains to Oz - i dont need it - Oz has its own industry, once i own Perth, Brisbane and Sydney im making my own supplies - theres no need for masses of supplies from Japan or Dutch East Indies
What if the fight for those locales is more drawn out than you expect, say due his his reserves being triggered or whatnot? Have you landed enough supplies for an extended campaign?
To Java -
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Theres not much going on here but the daily sinking of transport ships by the Fuso group - i dont know where theyre going, where theyve been or what theyre supplying but they stop floating around Christmas Island. Theres daily oil and fuel TFs leaving Balikpapan and Palembang heading to the home islands or Truk and then on elsewhere.
Sumatra -
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A picture for my pain. After the last botched attack off Ceylon this is/was the mini KB that made it back to Singapore and was fully restored and patched up - 39 days of hammering and banging, 2 days out of dock and we meet the Brit CVs heading south. To be fair i knew they were there and i headed for them i just didnt expect the outcome - i think i sunk the Formidable but the 2 remaining decks were much bigger than my light carriers and it was pretty much a wash, rinse, repeat of the Ceylon encounter - we took down the CAP but the bombers just came straight on. The Zuiho was here too, she sank last turn, first flat top blood to KyzBP, although i imagine his intel from Ceylon was that these 3 were already sunk - i remember my days as a confused intel reading Allied commander. I dont think the others will make it either - they were headed for Singers but ill put them in at Sabang and see what we can recover - all planes have been distributed across Sumatra and getting ready to try and strike back at the CV TF seen just west of Siberoet
China
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The land KB is on its way to Paoshan then British Lashio. In the middle at Kwaiyang, i think Chungking has marched south and taken back some territories. I see the strategy, cut me off from my supplies and weaken the land KB - as long as i take bases as i march with ease the army will get its supplies from each victory, and then ultimately at Rangoon we have the head of all Allied supplies in the region - then its KyzBPs turn to be cut off. We have equal amounts of assault points just south of the retaken base just south of Kwaiyang so i can block him there. Way to the east at Hankow we just destroyed 42000 troops by surrounding the Chinese army - theres 2500 assault points heading west from there to Changsha and then to retake Kwaiyang where all they have to do is stand in the road and stop the Chinese counter attack
Lastly, Japan
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Ive had some success off Hokkaido with a destroyer raider force and have sunk a few ships. Last turn we met the CV group at night and managed to put 5 holes in Saratoga i think - it wont be catastrophic but i hope it screams 'BACK THE FK OFF MY ISLANDS' to KyzBP. The BB TF raiders have just arrived and they will be set to bombard Uruppu-Jima, i have 100 capable fighters based at Ominato who can provide CAP on their journey home and i have reasonable confidence in their abilities.
I wasted a huge amount of bombers here by forgetting to stop them from bombing - their escorts are the above mentioned awesome CAP experts and they continued for 3 days without this and died in droves, my fault. The plan then is just to harass him here as much as possible and make him go home
Quote from: Airborne Rifles on April 10, 2016, 12:57:22 PM
What if the fight for those locales is more drawn out than you expect, say due his his reserves being triggered or whatnot? Have you landed enough supplies for an extended campaign?
i have and theres more on the way - the only real disaster is if he takes Albany back with 100k of supplies all stacked neatly on the beach
Thanks for the update. I should bitch more often ;) >:D
...there are only 24 hours in a day.....
Prioritize then, I say!
Glad I found this AAR....excellent. What is the game date for the latest screenshots?
I wonder, is there anyone who has read this thread but not KyzBP's thread?
Hey Geek. Sorry to hear your calling it quits on the AAR but I understand very well about life's priorities. You played one hell of a campaign though-- much better than I ever thought the Japanese could in this monster game. You got nothing to be feeling bad about for sure. I think I hear Tokyo calling for you to come be the new Defense Minister.
Thanks slash - it's been a hard decision, I'm without laptop or PC for an unknown amount of time and its wholly unfair to kyzbp who has been an excellent opponent
I enjoyed the game thoroughly and thank kyzbp for a brilliant game
You both did a brilliant job and it was very enjoyable to follow along. O0
Your AAR was outstanding, UCG! We were certainly at the tipping point. Another couple of weeks may have decided the entire war. Maybe it was good it ended where it did leaving everyone in suspense. I commend you for not being the usual dusty Japanese opponent who grabs what he can and then turtles for the rest of the war.
Thanks again for a great game.You were a more than worthy adversary. O0
AND NOW WE WANT COMMENTARY! :D O:-)