The Good The Bad & The Indifferent

[Lowpe]

ORIGINAL: obvert

They're good on Okinawa and PI, some of the islands. Or just disband them to save supply. [:)]

Heretic! Infidel!

Your true colors are showing! You are no JFB!!!!

Disband an AA unit! Never! Ever!

All true JFB's loves these guns!

[Canoerebel]

John is way more active on his AAR than he has been in recent weeks. I'm looking forward to running the next turn. I'll be looking for signs that KB and Mini KB are on course to rendezvous and that John is finally ready to commit his carriers.

Since I see through the glass darkly, all this may be something else entirely.

[MakeeLearn]

John is way more active on his AAR than he has been in recent weeks. I'm looking forward to running the next turn. I'll be looking for signs that KB and Mini KB are on course to rendezvous and that John is finally ready to commit his carriers.

Since I see through the glass darkly, all this may be something else entirely.

Not another drill?!

[Canoerebel]

6/12/44

Fun House: It's looking more and more like John is vectoring his carrier aggressively. See map for details. (Later today I'll post a map with info regarding the day's actions centered on ground and air forces.)

[jwolf]

Can you go into position with your CVs to take advantage of your LBA fighters in the Central PI?

[Canoerebel]

KB may be closer to the Legaspi fields than Death Star is...and Death Star will be shepherding some slower ships (unless I elect to leave them behind).

I have some airfields on the west side - Beaufort, Puerto Princesa and Taytay are level two fields; Balabac Island is level three. These have enough supply to handle some fighter squadrons, but not enough to handle massive bomber missions beyond perhaps an SBD raid or two. But we'd be about even in terms of contributing LBA in that area.

[Canoerebel]

Looking at the map, I'd think John would keep KB well out to sea if he came down the east side of the PI. He'd be wary of the big Allied airfields and the possibility I might send out combat ships to disrupt his TFs. But it will take him considerably longer to make a rendezvous if he comes around the west side of the PI, I think. In that event, Death Star might have a window to return to Legaspi...or prevent KB and Mini KB from rendezvousing.

If John truly wants to accomplish a rendezvous, the best way for him to do so is to act very boldly, right now. He'd need to take a chance and send KB down the east size, perhaps at flank speed. And he'd need to send Mini KB strongly NE, perhaps also at flank speed. I think KB and Mini KB would then end up fairly close to different sides of Mindanao, but his ships would be fatigued, and he'd be worried about Mini KB facing some exposure to attack in detail (he'd rate it unlikely I'd send DS ENE at flank speed, but he wouldn't be sure).

Lots to think about.

[Canoerebel]

Trying to read tea leaves.

[Canoerebel]

The word apart from KB Mania

[Lowpe]

Kind of reminds me of the time the Japanese pulled a Jeb Stuart with the baby KB before.

[Canoerebel]

A simple turn in the middle of 1944, involving hundreds of decisions and perhaps thousands of clicks.

Which way will John's carriers most likely steam?
Adjust search patrols.
Adjust sub patrols.
Should LBA focus on strike potential or base/base-shipping defense?
Move fighters around to provide some local defense around the Sulu Sea region.
Where should Death Star go?
Which ships should follow?
Which ships should detach and where should they go and how will those TFs be configured to follow?
What should be the ranges for carrier strike aircraft and fighters?
Adjust ranges accordingly.
Fiddle with SBD search percentages and TBF ASW percentages.
Which bases should be reconned?
Adjust recon squadrons accordingly.
Should I switch focus of 4EB from Manila to Mindanao airfields for suppression purposes, in the event KB does come this way?
If so, adjust bomber targets.
Add replacement pilots where necessary.
How are ground units doing?
Change commanders for those in harm's way.
Do any ground units need to move up the Luzon peninsula?
Change to strat mode to get them moving.
Okay, what am I forgetting? I don't know, but I'm frazzled, so let's move to the next important theater and go through many new permutations...
...in Thailand....
...in the DEI...
...in the Coral Sea...
...in SoPac....
...in CenPac....
What reinforcements have arrived and where should they go?
...and on and on and on.

Sure is fun!

[Canoerebel]

I offer my best guesses (or analysis), to act as a yard stick to measure by tomorrow.

[MakeeLearn]

.....

[Canoerebel]

6/13/44

Busy day, but no sign of pending carrier battle. All that analysis fer nothin'.

I feel most like the Confederate private writing a letter home and suddenly ending it, "We're being drummed into line. Expect a big battle momentarily." And it's always just a false alarm...until it isn't.

[Canoerebel]

I'll share now a major part of the game that I haven't discussed previously.

As Fun House unfolded in early April, a strong reinforcement armada took station east of Marcus Island. I was nearly certain that John would react to Fun House strongly, commit KB, and that a channel would open to bring in the reinforcements. He did commit KB briefly, but on a raid against the DEI. As that was happening, my ships moved into position well to the east of Marcus. But KB never again sortied or revealed itself, though I had some indications that it was posted around Pagan. So the armada sat...and sat...and sat. For six weeks it sat.

Finally, in mid-May, I made the hard (for me) decision to pull the TFs back and send them the long way around, through the Coral Sea. They were joined in transit by lots more ships coming in from Pearl and elsewhere in the Pacific. The journey took nearly a month. The Mini Death Star took station at Brisbane to await all those TFs. Now the armada is moving north, schedule to leave Townsville tonight. (And, all the while, I figured KB would show up somewhere far away, so that I'd kick myself for not maintaining position near Marcus; but that never happened.)

The successful passage of this armada into the DEI to unite with Death Star is the most critical operation now. There is a chance KB will pounce or that John will orchestrate a KB/Mini KB merger + pounce.

He cannot allow this junction to take place. The supply and fuel will allow offensive operations to continue indefinitely; the troops will permit powerful new offensive operations; the combat ships will replace some damaged during hard campaigning; and the carriers will boost DS numbers way beyond what's been seen to date.

This transit will be of immense importance; not as sexy as a big battle, but more important.

[Reg]

It's posts like this that make following this AAR so entertaining and informative. (The Why as well as the What..)_.

Thank you for all your efforts in indulging us. [:)] [:)] [&o]

[T Rav]

Agree with Reg. Your AAR, and others, is what keeps me on the pages. Thank you

[paullus99]

Once you've combined your carrier forces, perhaps it will be time to do some hunting?

There is no reason to let John continue to believe he can split his flat tops in the face of your overwhelming superiority.

[Canoerebel]

6/14/44

A very busy map with lots of good things happening today. See map for details.

[Lowpe]

You talk about the Cooktown area and angst for the miniDS, but for the life of me I am having a hard time following this. I don't think I have seen a picture of the area in a dog's age. Could you show one, so I can have some angst too?