A Glorious Way to Die: John 3rd vs. NY59Giants BTS: Lite

[vicberg]

This is a really tough call. Too bad you don't know his exact location. You have 2 CVs between the KB and Hawaii/West Coast and that's almost too tempting to give up on. He's either retreating to Nome or steaming south. You could do the historically accurate Japanese thing to do and split the KB again (probably with the same results).

[Canoerebel]

As an Allied player who has been in this position (or similar positions) many times, including against John, I can tell you that Michael is not considering Nome. He has two options: make a run for the northeast on the prediciton that John moves W or SW. Alternatively and on the assumption that running NE would be suicidal, making SW in hopes of seeking refuge in Hawaii or points S or SW. Michael should have plenty of fuel, so I'm guessing he'll choose option two.

It would be tough for John to chase him down - perhaps impossible. But John has bigger fish to fry, so perhaps John can scare Michael a bit while transitioning his full focus to the invasion of Hawaii.

Right about now, Michael should be freaking out. His carriers are in no-man's-land and the enemy seems to be everywhere, particularly SoPac and in the vicinity of Hawaii. It is likely that Michael will decide to move his southern group of carriers to SoPac with an eye towards either picking off enemy TFs in the absence of the KB or, eventually, consolidating his CVs to respond to John's threat(s). (There is a small chance Michael would react to the contrary, by using his southern carriers in the DEI, but I think that's unlikely.)

This is not the time for John to go chasing after zephyrs. He has the main ballgame about to get underway. He'd better attend to it fully. He probably can't win the war by taking Hawaii, but he can certainly lose it during the process. But if he takes Hawaii, that alone is such a signal achievement that he can rest on his laurels for quite some time (and John is the kind of player that enjoys that feeling immensely!) and make things rather hard on Michael through the end of '42 and into early '43. But come mid '43, all bets are off.

John, you're doing great. Keep it up!

[John 3rd]

I couldn't resist. I called the work base of the Canoerebel and had a delightful chat with the Southerner. Always pleasant to hear that lovely Southern Drawl!

He is completely correct in all regards with his above Post.

The chance to ambush and sink a sizeable portion of the American Fleet has passed. We gave it a good shot. The KB (with all BC) will retire towards Midway. Still might be a slight chance of action if Michael moves that direction but my bet is he'll race for Anchorage and Allied fighter cover.

There are much bigger fish to fry in the South!

[John 3rd]

Just got the turn from Michael and thought you might enjoy his humor as well as my response:

From: Michael Benoit
Sent: Monday, May 18, 2015 7:50 PM
To: John Cochran
Subject: Feb 3rd - Zig or Zag??

John,

Should I've zigged or should I've zagged with Mini-Death Star??
Will weather be on my side for another day??
Will my choices result in my being able to actually use CV Midway in '46??

ENJOY!!
Michael


My reply:

I saw it as three major choices:

1. Race north for friendly CAP.
2. Go south for PH and ‘safety.’
3. FLANK Speed due east for USA.

I didn’t want to mess with extra fighters...
Don’t have fuel for going east...

That leaves....

[Prydwen]

Hi John,

I've downloaded and begun looking into your mod. You're dragging me back into this game. Again. I like it. [:D]

I have one quick question before I go to work that is concerning Mr. George. I notice that the second and third models are CV capable. They've obviously superior to the Zero and the first model comes out a year before Mr. Sam which seems roughly equal to George. Anyway, my thoughts as soon as I saw the CV capability was that I would go all in on George and basically that would be my one fighter for the entire IJN. Maybe I would save some Zero production for trainer aircraft but that would be about it. You earlier said that you would be expanding the Zero research and building programs. I'm curious why did you decide to stick with the Zero?

Joe

[John 3rd]

The decision there was based on the Zero design team being pulled off the model historically to do research creating Jack. By keeping the design team on the Zero airframe we eliminate Jack and see quicker upgrades of Zero. The George is a fantastic plane, though short-legged, and it was independently designed. We allow it into the mix for that very reason.

Good to see you back Sir. Hope you are doing well!

[John 3rd]

February 3, 1942

Michael DOES go south! He runs for PH as fast as possible. Talk about the Americans jumping from the frying pan into the fire!

His CVs are too far from the Kido Butai due to me getting a heart attack as four US DDs open a short fight at only 3,000 Yards from KB. YIKES! The Americans are dogged and plant 2 5" shells into the tender sides of Hiryu, Soryu, and Shokaku. Thank goodness for 5" shells! None of the CVs are hurt and the action does slow down the Japanese move towards Midway. Three of four DDs are crushed under my BC's heavy guns. The fourth (I assume) sinks later.

My two small STF find game as well. A modern CL and 2 DDs duel vs another quartet of American DDs. Nothing much happens. My 4 DDs run into YET ANOTHER quartet of US DDs and smack two of them pretty good for moderate damage to IJN Hibiki. (Moment of silence for that GREAT AAR!)

Sunrise

The KB goes into full swing against all these DD TF. It is butchery. Aircraft vs DDs are usually pretty ineffective but the Japanese sink a minimum of SEVEN with possibly two more going down. NICE!

The Americans lose at least ten DDs on the day. Gotta like that.

The afternoon sees a large TF spotted just out of range to the South--Southeast of KB.

Pretty crazy day is you ask me.

KB tries to head for the barn at Midway...

[John 3rd]

Here is the screenshot farther to the south where the Americans are spotted:

[Sangeli]

Where are the rest of your carriers? You could cause issues for him if he actually is heading to Pearl Harbor. Not going to be a great refuge in the coming weeks. Your window for a decisive battle may not be closed.

[Prydwen]

Hi John,

I'm doing well and I hope you are too. Thank you for asking. Oh, by the way, how did the train car turn out? If I remember right you were turning it into an office maybe?

I was hurrying my post last night so I probably wasn't as clear as I should've been. I wasn't asking why was George in this mod. I was saying that George is superior to everything that comes out before it and arguably better or at least equal to everything that comes after excluding the very late war fighters that come out at the end of '45 or beginning of '46. So my question was intended to be more specific to this particular match you're playing right now. Why put research into an inferior model, such as the land based Zeros or even the later carrier based Zeros, when you can focus all of it on a better plane? Meaning the George, especially now that it can fly on carriers. George shoots down 4E bombers. I'd love to see what it get in and just wreck a flight of SBD's that are coming after my carriers.

I'm just genuinely curious what your reasoning was for using both planes. Does it seem gamey to you to use just the George? Or maybe there is a historical reason that I'm unaware of? Or it's cool if you just like the Zero. Like I said, I'm just curious.

Joe

PS You don't have to call me sir. I'm enlisted! [:'(]

[Jellicoe]

Watching this with baited breath John III. Actually watching all of your AARs involves a lot of baited breath. Highly audacious moves that I would not think of planning myself, so I watch and learn and gain lots of entertainment simultaneously!

[John 3rd]

ORIGINAL: Jellicoe

Watching this with baited breath John III. Actually watching all of your AARs involves a lot of baited breath. Highly audacious moves that I would not think of planning myself, so I watch and learn and gain lots of entertainment simultaneously!

Isn't audacious another word for STUPID??!!

[John 3rd]

ORIGINAL: ItsAMadhouse

Hi John,

I'm doing well and I hope you are too. Thank you for asking. Oh, by the way, how did the train car turn out? If I remember right you were turning it into an office maybe?

I was hurrying my post last night so I probably wasn't as clear as I should've been. I wasn't asking why was George in this mod. I was saying that George is superior to everything that comes out before it and arguably better or at least equal to everything that comes after excluding the very late war fighters that come out at the end of '45 or beginning of '46. So my question was intended to be more specific to this particular match you're playing right now. Why put research into an inferior model, such as the land based Zeros or even the later carrier based Zeros, when you can focus all of it on a better plane? Meaning the George, especially now that it can fly on carriers. George shoots down 4E bombers. I'd love to see what it get in and just wreck a flight of SBD's that are coming after my carriers.

I'm just genuinely curious what your reasoning was for using both planes. Does it seem gamey to you to use just the George? Or maybe there is a historical reason that I'm unaware of? Or it's cool if you just like the Zero. Like I said, I'm just curious.

Joe

PS You don't have to call me sir. I'm enlisted! [:'(]

As you know Joe all the Mods my Design Team is part of, we like to force the individual player to MAKE CHOICES. This one is a perfect example. The George is a fantastic aircraft but with shorter range. The later ZEROs have excellent range but are all old airframes but with slightly better upgrades until Sam comes in. Mr. Sam to me is a different story but I've only gotten to play deep enough into one game to have seen it in use.

LOVE CHOICES!

[John 3rd]

ORIGINAL: Sangeli

Where are the rest of your carriers? You could cause issues for him if he actually is heading to Pearl Harbor. Not going to be a great refuge in the coming weeks. Your window for a decisive battle may not be closed.

I've given that thought a lot of contemplation. My 5 CVL and 2 CAV are SW of Hawaii presently moving to cover Johnston Isle in case Michael tries something. These seven decks would make a credible challenge for Michael's force but I don't feel REAL CONFIDENT of the outcome. Once the initial flurry of landings wrap up I intend to re-work the CV into two balanced Task Forces.

Akagi is almost repaired and that will help. Heck--Junyo is less then a month from being available presently!

My CVs are in bad need of fuel. They head for Midway where a TF of four AOs should be waiting.

It appears that Michael did a second FULL SPEED move again and I have lost him. Directed (two days ago) six SS to move to cover any approach to PH from the north. They may get lucky and score. This might be a real truth considering what I did to his DDs! Cannot imagine his fuel being anything but horrible. He has done at least THREE full speed turns with those TFs.

The cat should be out of the bag with the last turn. The Johnston Marine CD unit and Base Force put up a good fight and to end it quickly I had to bring in the Para SNLF Brigade. He might see it as simply troops finishing things off but it should truly worry him seeing them at JOHNSTON ILSE!

[John 3rd]

Here is the overview map with my SS circled and arrow drawn for the TFs heading to Midway from the Aleutians:

[Sangeli]

ORIGINAL: John 3rd

ORIGINAL: Sangeli

Where are the rest of your carriers? You could cause issues for him if he actually is heading to Pearl Harbor. Not going to be a great refuge in the coming weeks. Your window for a decisive battle may not be closed.

I've given that thought a lot of contemplation. My 5 CVL and 2 CAV are SW of Hawaii presently moving to cover Johnston Isle in case Michael tries something. These seven decks would make a credible challenge for Michael's force but I don't feel REAL CONFIDENT of the outcome. Once the initial flurry of landings wrap up I intend to re-work the CV into two balanced Task Forces.

Well, day one of the battle may not go well for you. But if there is a big battle and each side has a number of crippled carriers, then its likely going to turn into a decisive victory for you if the KB has enough ammo and fuel to clean up what's left when it arrives. There's no respite to be found in Pearl Harbor so those crippled ships would have to make that long trek back to the west coast. Insofar as you can keep track of those CVs in the open water, you should be able to track them down.

Still, it sounds like Michael is trying to get back to PH, refuel and head somewhere else ASAP. If that's his plan only a luck sub can stop that.

[John 3rd]

Solid point Sir. Completely agree.

[John 3rd]

The simple reality is that I stayed about two days longer up in the Gulf of Alaska then I should have. Now we inflicted some real casualties on the enemy (TEN DDs and 15-18 AP--AK--Escorts) but now the consequences come through when I am critically low on fuel. We'll get to Midway but it is delaying Eastern Storm.

[Prydwen]

Hi John,

Diversity in aircraft giving you choices. Good reason. My thoughts were how specializing at the beginning could pay dividends later. The reason is because the R&D factories saved by focusing on George could be enough to get some of those late war toys to play with. Maybe by doing that you could get jets, for example, early enough to be a factor. Like you said, choices.

And for what it's worth, I think staying up North was the right choice. A tough choice but the right one. You had a chance to wreck a couple of his carriers really early in the war. Sure you could've been hurt but odds are you would have come out the clear victor. Having to only worry about LBA would only help you out for Eastern Storm.

Joe

[vicberg]

This AAR is like watching a cliffhanger. Only it's every day.