Shattered Vow

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Canoerebel
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Shattered Vow

Post by Canoerebel »

I have broken my vow of cellibacy and have agreed to take on Miller in Scenario Two (enhanced Jap OOB). We will play two-day turns without any House Rules - at start, anyway.

Miller will take Japs and I'll take the Allies. This will be a re-match of our "Rebels vs. Redcoats" WitP game that reached August 1944. Miller and I also squared off in several UV matches. So we go way back. He's a reliable opponent particularly adept at tactical defense.

Neither of us has paid much attention to the AE forums, so we'll both be learning on the fly.

Miller will take the weekend to set up turn one, so we expect the war to begin Monday. That means my vow of celibacy will have lasted 156 of the 180 days promised. Close enough!

My priority over the first days of the war will be: (1) Make sure the American carriers aren't risked unnecessarily; and (2) Pay attention to logistics.
"Rats set fire to Mr. Cooper’s store in Fort Valley. No damage done." Columbus (Ga) Enquirer-Sun, October 2, 1880.
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RE: Shattered Vow

Post by anarchyintheuk »

Glad to see you start another. Hope your addiction is of a milder form this time. [;)]
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RE: Shattered Vow

Post by JeffroK »

Good to see you've thrown away thise silly ideas of celibacy!!!

Change your priorities though, 2) is more important than 1) !!!
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RE: Shattered Vow

Post by tocaff »

CR you're my hero!  [&o]  You're strong enough to give up your vow of celibacy to help Paul learn to play AE.  [;)]  What a guy!    I'll be watching with great interest after following your war with John and your more than interesting AAR.  
Todd

I never thought that doing an AAR would be so time consuming and difficult.
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RE: Shattered Vow

Post by Canoerebel »

My vow of celibacy officially ends at 4:26 a.m., September 13, 2009 - I think that's 155 days since it began, way back in early April.

Woke up early and couldn't go back to sleep, checked my inbox, and - presto - there's the first turn from Miller. So I'm about to open the file and begin entering my first moves.

To reiterate, Miller and I are playing two day turns. I expect to work on my turn off and on most of the day. Mainly, I'll be trying to familiarize myself with the map, force disposition, logistics information, and try to get a feel for what I'll be doing during the first six months of war as Miller runs amock.
"Rats set fire to Mr. Cooper’s store in Fort Valley. No damage done." Columbus (Ga) Enquirer-Sun, October 2, 1880.
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RE: Shattered Vow

Post by Canoerebel »

December 7, 1941

Since we're playing two-day turns without House Rules, Miller said that I was free to issue whatever orders I wished to. Doing so took me about two hours:

1. I left the ships in Pearl Harbor and set all fighters to CAP at 50% to 80%.
2. The two CV TFs are to rendezvous and steam south to a point just east of Tarawa.
3. I tried to set most cities/bases to increase fortifications.
4. Didn't do anything on the West Coast. Left Saratoga at San Diego. Subs head to Pearl Harbor.
5. Left as is the reinforcement (artillery) convoy heading to Suva.
6. NZ and OZ combat ships heading to Port Moresby and Townsville where they'll refuel.
7. Most DEI combat ships headings to Soerabaja.
8. Some DEI tankers and transports are fleeing the war zone, most heading for Ceylon, but some for Perth or Darwin.
9. Philippines - combat ships heading south to Soerabaja or, in the case of Boise and Houston, to Darwin. The transports, tankers, minesweepers and other ships are dispersing, fleeing for points ranging from the Aleutians to Midway to Rabaul to Australia to India. Short-legged subs to lay mines at places like Aparri and Saigon. All long-range subs ordered to patrol in arc from South China Sea to Philippine Sea.
10. Hong Kong - combat ships fleeing south.
11. Singapore - alot of ships fleeing up the Malacca Straits. Combat ships including Force Z heading toward Soerabaja.
12. India - didn't do anything here except set bases to build forts.
13. China - don't know what to do here yet. Garrisons look pretty weak at the moment.
"Rats set fire to Mr. Cooper’s store in Fort Valley. No damage done." Columbus (Ga) Enquirer-Sun, October 2, 1880.
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RE: Shattered Vow

Post by Chickenboy »

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

December 7, 1941

Since we're playing two-day turns without House Rules, Miller said that I was free to issue whatever orders I wished to. Doing so took me about two hours:

1. I left the ships in Pearl Harbor and set all fighters to CAP at 50% to 80%.
2. The two CV TFs are to rendezvous and steam south to a point just east of Tarawa.
3. I tried to set most cities/bases to increase fortifications.
4. Didn't do anything on the West Coast. Left Saratoga at San Diego. Subs head to Pearl Harbor.
5. Left as is the reinforcement (artillery) convoy heading to Suva.
6. NZ and OZ combat ships heading to Port Moresby and Townsville where they'll refuel.
7. Most DEI combat ships headings to Soerabaja.
8. Some DEI tankers and transports are fleeing the war zone, most heading for Ceylon, but some for Perth or Darwin.
9. Philippines - combat ships heading south to Soerabaja or, in the case of Boise and Houston, to Darwin. The transports, tankers, minesweepers and other ships are dispersing, fleeing for points ranging from the Aleutians to Midway to Rabaul to Australia to India. Short-legged subs to lay mines at places like Aparri and Saigon. All long-range subs ordered to patrol in arc from South China Sea to Philippine Sea.
10. Hong Kong - combat ships fleeing south.
11. Singapore - alot of ships fleeing up the Malacca Straits. Combat ships including Force Z heading toward Soerabaja.
12. India - didn't do anything here except set bases to build forts.
13. China - don't know what to do here yet. Garrisons look pretty weak at the moment.
Canorebel,

The value of "rest" in this game is entirely underrated. I strongly recommend you consider resting LCUs (not base forces) that are not in imminent contact with the enemy. This is particularly important in China, India and some areas of the DEI (e.g., Java, Palembang at the beginning, Timor, etc.) in the early game stages.

Good luck!
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Two-Day Attack on Pearl Harbor

Post by Canoerebel »

12/7/41 and 12/8/41

Pearl Harbor Shipping: Over two days, strike aircraft from the KB hammer battleship row, sinking BBs Nevada and Arizona, with other BBs suffering damage as follows: Pennsylvania (59 89 9 0), Nevada (57 87 25 0), West Virginia (53 86 8 0), Tennessee (54 65 5 0), and California (33 45 12 0). Since we are playing two-day turns, I doubt the Japs will return, which is a very good thing since three of those ships are in a bad way. Other capital ships suffering damage at Pearl: CA San Francisco (86 55 38 0), CA New Orleans (20 1 1 0), and CL Raleigh (22 26 37 0). Three DDs and a DMS suffered moderate damage. SS Dolphin and AV Wright suffered light damage.

Pearl Harbor Aircraft: The Japs lost about 80 pilots, most on day two of the raid. The Allies lost perhaps 60 aircraft on the ground.

Pearl Harbor Summary: Battleship row took a licking, but the Japs lost alot of pilots. Overall, I'd say the Allies came out okay.

Merchant Shipping Elsewhere: No sign of the Mini-KB or KBs although I'm pretty sure one is in the Philippine Sea and perhaps another in the South China Sea. But no carrier aircraft sorties there. Some land-based Bettys sank a a few AKs and AKLs near Formosa and Luzon, and Jap subs got a few merchant ships including AP President Madison off Palawan.

Combat Ships Elsewhere: A minesweeper sank I-121 at Singapore. No Allied combat ships have been damaged (other than at Pearl Harbor). Force Z made it to Batavia. The Hong Kong and Manila DDs have fanned out and are heading south. Boise and Houston seem to have sprinted to safety and will make for Koepang on Timor. I formed a raiding force around BB Prince of Wales - it will head north to Kuching over the next two days. BC Renown and a few escorts will make for Soerabaja.

On the ground: The Japs took Batan Island on the 7th and Makin on the 8th. Landings at Kota Bharu, but none yet on Luzon or the other big Philippine Islands. In China, there is so much more terrain, so many more roads, and units so spread out, that I don't knwo where to go or what to do yet. But I'll figure it out!

Two Day Turns: Tough on the Japs - for instance, Miller really can't try for a day three strike on Pearl, because to do so would commit him to a fourth day. Tough on Allies, too, because I commit PoW to steam to Kuching and can't recall her if things look inauspicious. But I REALLY like the idea of two day turns so that playing the game doesn't take FOREVER.

AE vs. WitP: I might be proven wrong, but as the Allied player I feel much more secure on the perimeter in AE than I did in WitP. In WitP, I felt like far-flung places like New Caledonia, Samoa, the Societies, the Aleutians, and even New Zealand could not be defended against an aggressive and experienced Jap player early in the war, if he wanted them badly enough. In AE, I feel like I have a decent shot of defending these places and will even consider defending bases like Espiritu, Port Moresby, and Fiji if given time. Of course, a wholesale Jap offensive against any one point early in the war will overwhelm the Allies, but it isn't like the WitP steamroller express. In a way, I'll miss the utter mayhem and uncontrolled nature of WitP, but it will also be interesting to forge ahead with the more controlled (and realistic) pace of AE.
"Rats set fire to Mr. Cooper’s store in Fort Valley. No damage done." Columbus (Ga) Enquirer-Sun, October 2, 1880.
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RE: Two-Day Attack on Pearl Harbor

Post by Q-Ball »

Canoerebel, consider me subscribed.

Good luck, pilot losses HURT BAD at this point for Japan
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RE: Two-Day Attack on Pearl Harbor

Post by Canoerebel »

Thanks, Q-Ball. It wouldn't be a fun AAR to write if you weren't reading and commenting from time to time.
"Rats set fire to Mr. Cooper’s store in Fort Valley. No damage done." Columbus (Ga) Enquirer-Sun, October 2, 1880.
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RE: Two-Day Attack on Pearl Harbor

Post by ny59giants »

I should be able to follow and offer a few comments here and there with this AAR. I had become economics minister and general sounding board for John so I withdrew from reading your AAR for many months of game time.

Be careful with getting those highly damaged BBs from Pearl back to the West Coast even after they get most of the damage under control. Those with high major damage (require only shipyard to repair) may still sink. I had it happen to me against the damn AI.
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RE: Two-Day Attack on Pearl Harbor

Post by Canoerebel »

Thanks, NY. You're another "old timer" I'm always glad to see around.

The only two opponents I've faced in WitP and AE are John III and Miller. One of these days I'll get around to some of you other gents...
"Rats set fire to Mr. Cooper’s store in Fort Valley. No damage done." Columbus (Ga) Enquirer-Sun, October 2, 1880.
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Force Z Goes into Battle

Post by Canoerebel »

12/9/41 and 12/10/41

Force Z: A reconstituted Force Z consisting of BB Prince of Wales, CL Danae, and three DDs steamed north from Batavia on the 9th, arrived at Kuching on the 10th, and found a Jap TF consisting of an AP, AK, and 2 PB. These four ships went down and Force Z is on its way back to Batavia where it will join two more CLs to form a western DEI Allied combat TF. An eastern force led by BC Renown is concentrating at Soerbaja, to be joined soon by CAs Boise and Houston, which safely arrived in Koepang. The strike by PoW is the first planned Allied attack of the war and was a success.

Pearl Harbor: The KB pulls away and heads south near Johnston Island. Damage to the American BBs and CAs drops slightly, but it appears that it will take quite some time to implement effective damage control.

American carriers: Saratoga remains at San Diego. Lexington and Enterprise continue south and will near Tarawa on the 11th and then continue south to refuel at Noumea. I'm not sure where they go from there.

Philippines: The Japs begin amphibious operations, landing at Lingayen, San Fernando and Aparri. Based on SigInt, I think another force is heading for Legaspi. I haven't figured out how to defend Luzon yet. In WitP I concentrated my forces at Manila and Bataan. But in AE there is more terrain, like Clark Field. I'm mulling my strategy now. For reasons unknown, the Japs aren't hitting the Allied airfields on Luzon (other than some very costly strikes to them on the opening two days of the war). PT boats tried to interdict the transports at Aparri, sinking a DMS, but a TF including CA Ashigara finished them off. The flight of the transports and small combat ships continues - there has been a marked absence of any Mini-KBs or land-based strikes. The Allies lost AMs Bittern, Tanager and Finch, a TK, and several transports which had the bad luck to blunder into dispersed Jap combat TFs including one led by CA Maya and CL Kuma. Another force led by CAs Myoka and Hagura sank AP Rochambaeu off eastern Mindanao.

DEI: The Japs began landing at Singkawang, Brunei and Miri. Over the two days, Swordfish from Singapore scored multiple hits on at least five AKs here. That, combined with Force Z at Kuching, has probably stung Miller's effort to make a quick grabs on the southwest coast of Borneo. So far, the Hong Kong and Philippine DDs have steamed south without incident. Another day or two and they begin arriving at Soerabaja and Batavia. Where in the heck are the Mini-KBs?

Malaya: Jap LBA hammered three AKs and two APs that were trying to evacuate a combat unit from Georgetown. Landings continue at Kota Bharu, but thus far no Jap troops have arrived at Alor Star.

CenPac: The Japs seized Tarawa. I think this was done by fast transport, so I don't expect Enterprise and Lexington to find any targets when they steam past this island tomorrow. At San Diego, 2nd Marine Parachute Battalion will embark on transports heading to Midway and 2nd Marine Defense Battalion will embark on transports heading for Pago Pago.

China: I found a big stack of Chinese combat units in the woods west of Ichang. They're going to advance into Ichang and then - I hope - I can evacuate them to the south. I don't like ground units stuck in the woods. I have alot of studying to do of the terrain in China to figure out the likely avenues of advance for the Japs and the best places for the Chinese to defend. I can't find any Chinese units designated for SEAC. So thus far I don't have any Chinese moving to reinforce Burma.
"Rats set fire to Mr. Cooper’s store in Fort Valley. No damage done." Columbus (Ga) Enquirer-Sun, October 2, 1880.
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RE: Shattered Vow

Post by stuman »

ORIGINAL: anarchyintheuk

Glad to see you start another. Hope your addiction is of a milder form this time. [;)]

Finally ! Glad you have renewed your active membership in the cult.
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RE: Shattered Vow

Post by ny59giants »

If your not seeing mini-KB (which at start has only CVL Ryujo covering the southern landings on Luzon), then I would imagine that he "could" be finishing upgrading the CVE and CVL at Hiroshima from Claude to Zero after expanding the ship based daitai to fill the carriers. He has an empty CVE near Palua at start that may be getting some planes. They will be coming out of the morning mist in about a week to ten days.

Thus, I would be sending some subs to poke around the two bases around Palua (yes, I'm using the WITP names as I don't have the new ones memorized yet [;)]).
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RE: Shattered Vow

Post by Canoerebel »

Thanks for the tips.

It's odd not to see Palau on the map, but it also seemed odd in WitP not to see Peleliu.

"Rats set fire to Mr. Cooper’s store in Fort Valley. No damage done." Columbus (Ga) Enquirer-Sun, October 2, 1880.
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RE: Shattered Vow

Post by thegreatwent »

Looking forward to this AAR CR[:)]. Be sure to stage transports at Aden for your LCU reinforcements and Cargo ships at Cape Town for supplies, be sure to provide escorts. (subs are pretty nasty in AE IMO)
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RE: Shattered Vow

Post by Q-Ball »

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

Thanks for the tips.

It's odd not to see Palau on the map, but it also seemed odd in WitP not to see Peleliu.


I refuse to call it Balebedop or whatever it is now.....it's Palau. We all know where it is. That is the most confusing re-name from WITP. That, and maybe Kwaj being split in two, though I suppose that makes sense
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Enterprise and Lex in Action

Post by Canoerebel »

12/11/41 and 12/12/41

American CVs: The American carriers found prey as they steamed just west of Tarawa. Miller sent two invasion forces to hit Ocean and Nauru Islands. The one targeting Nauru successfully landed its force and withdrew, but the Ocean TF was sighted and then hit by SBDs, which sank three AKs and put three bombs on CL Katori. The carriers will proceed to the Solomons and probably refuel at Tulagi before considering a patrol up around Rabaul, where the Japs have landed and taken Kaeving. (The KB was last seen heading south from Johnston Island - before Miller could commit them to action he probably needs to reprovision at Kwajalein).

Subs: I-20 put two TT into CA Indianapolis at Palmyra, and she went down. I-155 put a TT into TK Mindanao off Palembang and then put two into AK Ethel Edwards, which sank. S-38 sank a DMS at Vigan.

Shipping and Combat Ships: For the most part the dispersal of ships from the PI and DEI has gone well. Most transports will head to Colombo and thence to Aden or Capetown. Most combat ships will remain in the DEI where I hope to keep Miller honest by forcing him to protect invasion forces. The Boise TF will move to Kendari. A Dutch CL force will move to Balikpan in a few days.

Air: Massed Jap air strikes against Clark Field shut down that airfield and yield results decisively favoring the Japs. Elsewhere, Miller doesn't have any forward airfields in the DEI yet, so it's still safe for the Allies to move around in the southern reaches.

Land: On Luzon, the Japs have taken San Fernando, Aparri, and Vigan and have begun landing at Legaspi. Elsewhere, Shortlands, Nauru and Guam have been invaded. The Japs haven't approached Wake Island yet. If I was John III, I would have picked up the Marine CD unit at Midway and fast transported it to Wake, but I won't try it at this late date.
"Rats set fire to Mr. Cooper’s store in Fort Valley. No damage done." Columbus (Ga) Enquirer-Sun, October 2, 1880.
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RE: Enterprise and Lex in Action

Post by Canoerebel »

As I continue with my first PBEM game, some thoughts regarding AE:

1. Overall, the game is vastly more detailed than WitP.

2. It is not vastly more complex, but only because WitP was vastly complex itself. So, AE is just extra vastly complex.

3. The game is awesome. Miller and I are about nine days or so into the game and haven't encountered a glitch, obvious bug, or "what the heck, this is ridiculous" moment.

4. The Japs take Guam and Tokyo Rose suddenly pipes up. Nice touch, developers!

5. Sent out all my subs not realizing (or forgetting) they are set to retire and that sub minelayers are set to "do not lay mines." This was frustrating, but something players will adjust to quickly.

6. Smaller hexes: yum!

7. Waypoints: Smackin' my lips!

8. Search arcs: Not really making use of them yet, but I will eventually.

9. Thousands and thousands of settings to consider: These may actually be a bit much, but what the heck. We'll probably grow to love them all.
"Rats set fire to Mr. Cooper’s store in Fort Valley. No damage done." Columbus (Ga) Enquirer-Sun, October 2, 1880.
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