Sqz stands down. The AAR is now concluded. Sqz (A) vs. obvert (J)

[ny59giants]

In chess, if I got up a few pawns, I would exchange queen for queen, rook for rook, etc. Thus, I would win in the end game. Same thing here, IMO.

[SqzMyLemon]

March 27/44:

Erik sends the big boys to Darwin. The nuclear bombardment causes over 1000 casualties and the airbase and port are ruined.

Three U.S. subchasers are sunk by one of the bombardment taskforces.

I'm not ready to celebrate yet, but the ships breaking out from Darwin are a day away from safety. There is a Japanese CV taskforce that could cause problems if it is re-directed to intercept. I even managed to sink a Japanese SC and xAKL unloading troops at Baba with four destroyers. One of the destroyers is sunk by Frances torpedo bombers based from Biak.

I'm not out of the woods yet, but if I can save even a few APA and AKA transports, I'll be happy.

The rest of the fleet is now at Milne Bay. Despite suffering an ammo storage explosion, CV Emperor Norton can be repaired in under three weeks at pier side. CV Lexington has 36 flotation damage and will be out for some time. Minus the Lexington, the entire carrier force should be ready for action within 30 days.

The next turn is away. Two U.S. SCTF's are sent to the waters around Hollandia to mess with enemy ASW and possibly a few transports. It appears the Japanese cruiser task forces have withdrawn back to Sarmi to protect a large amphibious task force unloading at the base. Sarmi was just too far to risk sending my destroyers. My last attempt to hit Japanese ships at Hollandia fizzled, perhaps I'll have better luck this time.

[SqzMyLemon]

Forgot to mention.

A U.S. Marine division reached Imphal and upgraded some devices. If I can upgrade my British armour units there as well, it will reduce the time it will take to redeploy them by weeks.

[SqzMyLemon]

I haven't been posting lately, but the game is moving along. The date is April 12, 1944.

The Allied fleet is still repairing damage incurred from the Darwin operation. It will be another 3-4 weeks until all carriers, except the Lexington, will be repaired.

In the meantime, bases continue to be expanded and more fuel and supply moved forward.

Japanese efforts to keep Darwin suppressed have been successful. I have no counter to the naval bombardments which are the most effective means of suppression, but air attacks against my ground forces are proving to be costly for the Japanese. The New Zealand 17th AA Bde. is performing stellar service and accounted for 18 Japanese bombers last turn that targeted Darwin. Of course, bombing at 6k certainly helps.

Australian forces have gained control of Fenton, and Katherine will be invested soon by troops marching overland from Daly Waters. There are four Japanese LCU's currently at Katherine. Supply is an issue and is not flowing well from Alice Springs or Tennant Creek. I am glad I sacrificed the transports to unload supply at Darwin, without it I'd be in a hopeless situation.

Allied efforts to secure Groote Eylandt, Gove and Wessel Island will commence soon. The plan is to try and open up a relatively safe LOC to Darwin, or at least one where I can use LRCAP and surface forces to support attempts to bring more supply to Darwin.

I'm counting on Erik's aggression and hope to whittle away at his forces. I was able to torpedo a Japanese battleship recently. As I slowly build up force in the area, it will become more dangerous for Japanese ships to operate against Darwin.

In Burma/India, Allied LCU's are slowly upgrading, but I have to deploy to Ramree Island, Imphal or Dimapur to do so. Time consuming to say the least. I've once again withdrawn Chinese forces from the theatre, they are just too great a drain on supply. It will take probably 1-2 months to be able to move against Japanese forces in Burma. There will be no finesse involved. I'll mass as much AV in one hex as I can and bludgeon my way forward to Prome. Only Australian, British and Indian divisions will be used. The U.S. Divisions are being withdrawn and redeployed to the Pacific. The first has reached Karachi and will take sail in a few days. The rest are still marching between Katha and Dimapur.

I've told myself not to worry anymore about my position, the timeline or attempting to capture any far flung objectives, until the Japanese carrier force has been destroyed. I predict a boring 1944 with a glacial pace of advance by the Allies. I tried to speed up the Allied advance and have been burnt badly twice...no more.

[Lokasenna]

ORIGINAL: SqzMyLemon

I've told myself not to worry anymore about my position, the timeline or attempting to capture any far flung objectives, until the Japanese carrier force has been destroyed. I predict a boring 1944 with a glacial pace of advance by the Allies. I tried to speed up the Allied advance and have been burnt badly twice...no more.

You don't necessarily need to destroy it. You just need to remove it from the equation as a threat.

Eventually, the size of your naval/air OOB will do that for you if you concentrate your assets. Another 4-5 months or so.

[SqzMyLemon]

The April 18, 1944 turn is away.

The Allies will attempt to liberate Katherine today with ground forces that have marched overland from Daly Waters. If successful, the LOC from Alice Springs to Darwin will be open, but I have no idea how problematic the flow of supply will be.

CV Lexington is on her way to Pearl Harbor for repairs. Shipyard time in Sydney would take 117 days, so I hope Pearl can improve upon that.

The Allied fleet still requires another two weeks to fully repair the remaining damage from the second eight hex strike.

U.S. divisions and British armoured brigades are upgrading now that they are out of Burma. Another U.S. division has reached Karachi and loading up on transports for deployment to the Pacific via Balboa.

Allied offensive operations will resume in May.

[pontiouspilot]

Can you get some mines into Darwin?...likely too far to get any PTs in there.

[SqzMyLemon]

ORIGINAL: pontiouspilot

Can you get some mines into Darwin?...likely too far to get any PTs in there.

I've used submarines to lay mines on the approaches to Darwin, but so far no hits. No fuel at Darwin for PT's, they'd be sitting ducks.

Erik has occasionally been using daylight naval bombardments. If I can get more aviation support to Fenton (level 2 airbase) then the threat of Allied LBA strikes may deter the daylight naval bombardments.

I'm happy with progress at Darwin and area considering what occurred. It's slow going, but this is now a secondary theatre just to draw Japanese attention. Any losses I can inflict on Japan around Darwin is a bonus.

[SqzMyLemon]

April 18/44:

The Allied deliberate attack at Katherine achieves 3:1 odds, reduces forts to level 2, but fails to dislodge the defenders.

Japanese cruisers bombard Darwin again during the night. A couple of Japanese AMc's have cleared the minefields, so no luck there.

Once Katherine is captured, I may abandon Darwin temporarily and concentrate a defence at Fenton incase the Japanese counter-invade.

I continue to reorganize my forces in preparation for my next move. I've not been conducting any air operations worth mentioning in order to build up a reserve pool of squadrons and replacement aircraft.

[SqzMyLemon]

April 20/44:

Katherine is captured after a second deliberate attack after waiting one day for supply to accumulate. Japanese forces are withdrawing towards Wyndham and Australian forces are in pursuit.

A deliberate attack is ordered against Groote Eylandt for tomorrow. I've been able to reinforce with some armour to see if that tips the balance in my favour.

Japan is reinforcing the DEI and now the Marianas. Any thought of advancing quickly through the Central Pacific is now gone. Maybe I should just re-prep for Japan and land at Hokkaido like every other desperate Allied player does. Fun times...yawn.

[SqzMyLemon]

April 22/44:

Groote Eylandt is captured. Expanding the airbase and port are priorities, so support troops and supply are already en route.

Up next is the capture of Gove.

Even with the removal of two armoured brigades and five U.S. divisions from the Burma theatre, supply is still in short supply.

Twenty more days until the Allied fleet will be ready for action. The time is being spent getting more fuel to Australia and forward bases.

The Japanese have been quiet with no activity whatsoever, but why wouldn't they be? There is no threat of large scale amphibious landings without carrier support. Having to rely on LBA isn't an option, since all the forward bases are still expanding and can't provide the numbers of aircraft needed to conduct effective offensive operations. Another month yet for Erik to strengthen his position even further.

[SqzMyLemon]

April 23/44:

Another quiet turn with no Japanese air activity.

Allied ships continue to repair.

While the navy continues to lick its wounds, the air force is being overhauled. Squadrons are being reorganized and aircraft downgraded or upgraded depending on their upcoming roles. Pilot reassignment is an ongoing process, but I'm making sure the best aircraft get the best pilots. The carrier wing is also being filled out with the best pilots. If I ever get a shot at KB, I want it to count. I've also begun changing squadron leaders to ones with less aggression. I've found the higher the aggression the more losses the unit incurs, because it won't pull out of combat when the odds are stacked against it. Assigning lower aggression reduces my fighter losses on sweep missions, because they won't continue to engage until all aircraft are damaged or destroyed. That's my current thought process, but I won't know for sure until I resume offensive air operations on a regular basis.

[SqzMyLemon]

April 25/44:

The Japanese are getting restless. Frank fighter sweeps over Darwin and Francis bombers over Merauke. The sweeps encounter no Allied CAP and the bombers miss APD's unloading a base force.

Allied deployment of support units at Groote Eylandt is progressing slowly. With no port, the xAP's are taking too long to unload. I have moved a large number of LCI and LST ships to Normanton and that will improve the rate of deployment. Once Groote is a level 2 airbase, I'll move against both Gove and Wessel.

Another few weeks to reorganize my forces and prepare for a few planned offensive operations.

[SqzMyLemon]

Would an all out invasion of Japan in the fall of 1944 have any chance of success?

[SqzMyLemon]

Thought I'd add, I have lost any confidence moving forward.

No stacking limits

No supply flow to where I need it

Suffering two eight hex strikes that have ruined my enjoyment of the game

No time to conduct a methodical advance

An old database that allows the Super-E's

A new defensive air tactic that completely shreds my air force

I'm asking for suggestions on how to turn things around here and try to restore any fun factor to this game. Right now I'm just a punching bag suffering one setback after another. If I don't turn things around in a matter of months and start enjoying this game again, I need to pass the game on to someone else.

[Canoerebel]

You're facing a very capable opponent, so being behind due to the date and due to the oddities of your game put a lot of pressure on you.

If memory serves, you've had some trouble with your carriers, but it hasn't been disastrous. In other words, I'm basing what I'm writing on the idea that you currently have carrier parity (+/- a few carriers) that will eventually (without further losses) work in your favor as you receive reinforcements. By late '44, you think you will be in a position to move strongly and possibly deeply.

Swinging for a home run may work or may result in a strikeout. It's kind of all or nothing.

If it's April '44 and I know my carrier situation won't allow me to move strongly for six months or so, I think I'd cast my eye around for something major and satisfying but not necessarily "home run." That's because I don't think Obvert is the kind of "pitcher" to throw a hanging curve. He isn't like to leave massive holes in his heartland. So a desperation invasion of Hokkaido or Korea or somewhere isn't likely to go well for you. In that case, you'll have invested six more months of game time so that you're ready to kill yourself or snap at anyone who enters your field of vision.

I think I'd look cast around for something more likely to succeed, give me some hope, and put me in a better position to prosecute the war in '45. The first thing that comes to mind is Java. But there are lots of others. In the meantime, until you had all your forces available, work on sending subtle, probes in some far away directions that slowly, almost imperceptibly, lead your opponent to conclude your looking somewhere else. Perhaps you gradually increase your sub presence around Hokkaido and the Kuriles. You send a few more ships to the Aleutians...and then a few more...and then a few more. And you build up your bases...and then you start some long-range recon (later, not too long before your "mock" invasion date). Then a bunch of carriers and combat ships and TFs show up a week or two before D-Day. The appearances have built up very gradually, but steadily, over five or six months...and then the big invasion TF gets underway, making for the Kuriles...and suddenly 95% of your shipping shows up off southern Java or Sumatra or steams right past both and makes for Borneo.

That's the way I think I'd do it. But there are probably many ways.

If, on the other hand, you developed a strong sense that your opponent had gotten complacent, was defending forward too strongly, and had left some juicy piece of real estate vacant (Okinawa, Formosa, Korea, etc.), the you could try that. But you'd need to pour over months of SigInt reports to get a feel for what's available...and then be prepared for your opponent to realize his weakness at the last minute. Seeing reinforcements bound for your long-cherished invasion target is unsettling.

It's a game. The challenge is immense. Much of the fun is in finding novel ways to solve a puzzle. The steady, straightforward, methodical advance works well, but dang everybody's done that. Where's the fun in mundane?

[Lokasenna]

You still have time for a methodical advance. I think you're about where I was (territory-wise) in one of my games, with the only major difference being that I was perhaps established at Darwin and Gove at this date (although you may have differences elsewhere). Just plod forward and let your OOB swell. Eventually you'll reach the overwhelming force that you need, and you can still afford to not risk a lot of things for relatively minor gains. That said, take advantage of any of his weaknesses that you can.

Also, don't focus too much on one theater. A nudge forward here, a shove there, a prod in yet another spot... everything gets you one airfield closer to the set of key bases you need to close out the game.

Also keep in mind that, even if you don't make a 2:1 VP ratio by August 31, 1945, you still have until March 1946 to achieve a 2:1 and get a minor victory. That's almost 2 years. That's a very long time - you're barely over halfway there from December 7, 1941, right now.

[SqzMyLemon]

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

It's a game. The challenge is immense. Much of the fun is in finding novel ways to solve a puzzle. The steady, straightforward, methodical advance works well, but dang everybody's done that. Where's the fun in mundane?

Mundane is the result of two eight hex naval strikes.

[Canoerebel]

Bad things happen; sometimes it's bad luck, sometimes through our own actions, and sometimes a mixture of both. Shake if off and move on.

[dave sindel]

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

Bad things happen; sometimes it's bad luck, sometimes through our own actions, and sometimes a mixture of both. Shake if off and move on.

+1