Islands of Destiny: RA 5.0 Japanese Side

[John 3rd]

February 8, 1945

Japan's Airpower gains nearly 1000 planes as ten carriers arrive at Yokohoma and unload their aircraft.

This arrival brings 5 BB/BC, 6 CA, 2 CL, and 22 DDs to the aresenal. Pretty much time for the end game...

[John 3rd]

Idle Question: With all of our emoji's to choose from why isn't there one showing an emoji preparing to commit seppuku?

Just a question...

[John 3rd]

Dan just wrote a lovely note:

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family also!

Is Michael there yet? I hope you guys have a great time together.

Sorry to hear about Paula. My closest friend goes through the same thing periodically and says it's worse than death.

You're in a tight spot in the game, no doubt. That's natural given the date of the game and what's transpired leading us to this point. Unless something really whacky happens to bump up things or delay them, I think the endgame should take place in late April or May. So you're not looking at indefinite suffering now. And you still have a big air force and navy that can throw wrenches into the works.

When you have something in progress, like KB raids, you are still engaged in the game and flip turns to see what's going to happen. When you don't have things in the works your level of interest drops considerably. So drum up something - the threatened counteroffensive in Korea, a major air/sea assault on Death Star, whatever. You have the means to strike but I think you've talked yourself into a passive defense that has some merit from a gaming/victory point standpoint but little if anything of merit from a military standpoint. The Japanese navy is steaming around SoPac accomplishing nothing while the Heartland is under attack. This should not be! This is not the Bushido Code. This is some weird unsatisfactory way of letting the Empire whither on the vine.

Let me know what day you want the turn back. I won't send it prematurely since that puts the ball back in your court. We can slow down until you're ready to proceed.

In the meantime, enjoy a day at home! We're at home, which is unusual. I've already done one small hike of a historical nature and may do another later today. I'll do a lot of reading too.

My regards to Paula and the Cochran men.

Here is a part of my response:

Damn…do you REALIZE that you just told ME to ‘buck up in a BUSHIDO manner??!!’ Holy CATS! Couldn’t have imagined that ever…

Thanks.

[John 3rd]

...just got a serious note from Michael (text) that he is in the ER with Chest Pains. Need some good thoughts sent gang...

[Kitakami]

ORIGINAL: John 3rd
...just got a serious note from Michael (text) that he is in the ER with Chest Pains. Need some good thoughts sent gang...

Prayers and best wishes sent his way.

[ny59giants]

Up in private room now. Have stress test in morning. Going with treadmill vs chemical. Did chemical 3 years ago and didn’t enjoy that. 😠 If you’ve done them before you know what I mean.

[pws1225]

Good luck with the stress test. Here's hoping all turns out well.

[jwolf]

ORIGINAL: John 3rd

Cannot imagine a stone being worse! Semi-glad to be a male here gang!

Just so you're not misled ... men can get stones, too, and in some cases the urologist gets them out by going through ... a delicate place. Prayers for your wife here as everyone I've heard of who has had stones will vouch that are extremely painful. If your wife has had so many bouts of stones, check her meds. Some medications can cause or exacerbate stone formation. That was the case with my wife FWIW.

[crsutton]

ORIGINAL: John 3rd

Haven't done a turn since I got back from Manhattan. Just don't have very much excitement running the turn and watching events unfold. If we were in 1942 or 1943 I might have more but life just doesn't feel very positive at the moment and watching a 1945 turn play out is TOTALLY depressing!

Sorry...just a little depression.

On the bright side my Mom made it to my sister's in Wichita and appears to be in much better spirits and is recovering from the surgery. We'll get the oncologist verdict next Thursday.

On the dark side, it appears my beloved wife is having a kidney stone. This is about an every two year event that brings a 50-50 chance of surgery to remove the blasted things. We're 2 & 2 with stones passing and stones surgery. She states having two babies was far less painful. CRAP! I watched that and it scared the tar out of me. Cannot imagine a stone being worse! Semi-glad to be a male here gang!

Big smiles...

Guys get them too and believe me, there is nothing in my life where I have experienced more pain. God bless morphine!

[BillBrown]

I have had a number of them, even had a Lithotripsy once. I have found if I drink lots of water every day( 4 quarts ) it helps to keep them from forming.
Oxycodone is my friend during those times.

[John 3rd]

I know men get them and I thank Goodness that I am not prone to them. AWFUL!

She had a rough night but MAY have passed it. We'll see...

[John 3rd]

February 9, 1945

We can still raise some HELL with the Allied AF. My troops have been driven out of Surat Thani, Malaya. The troops are moving south to the next base. Dan has been hitting them with lots of B-25s. No fighter escort. Did MENTION no fighter escort??!!

The morning of the 9th, 50 Japanese SAMS, TONYS, and FRANKS take up position over the troops. In comes the unescorted Allied bombers. All I can say is YUMMY!

[John 3rd]

Here are the losses for the day:




Dan swept Fusan with a Squadron of Hellkittens and P-51s. They were summarily crushed.

[John 3rd]

February 9, 1945

For, perhaps, the final time. Two 25 ship Task Forces containing 40 Tankers drop anchors at Tokyo Bay. They begin unloading 116,450 Fuel and 180,493 Oil. We have fuel and oil enough for the next four months. Can you believe that? Will still try to get them back to the DEI but don't worry much of that.

[John 3rd]

Dan and I both know that this year's long match is winding down. There have been a number of heartfelt messages sent back-and-forth. I can only hope that you get to have as fulfilling of experience as we have with this frightfully long campaign.

Note from Dan yesterday:

I've felt like that all along, but that's my perspective and what I think I know about you.

There are two approaches to the game for you: to marshal and protect assets, minimizing what I can get at, and thus prolonging the game by making it harder for me to achieve 2:1 auto victory. There is merit in that approach. There is nothing wrong with it. Very good players would apply that strategy to good effect.

The second way would be to aggressively attack now that the end is nigh. There is a chance that would succeed from a victory points standpoint, and a chance it would fail miserably so that I would rack up points. Probably that's not the best strategy to prolong the game...but I don't think you're the player to go meekly into the sunset. Bushido is something in the Japanese player psyche - you chief among them. You can forsake it - surprising everybody - but dang it, there's something unsavory about "going quietly into that dark night."

You've gained immense respect from the community for playing so deeply into this game. Most IJ players long since would have given up, disappeared, or found real world reasons to concede. But you've soldiered on, trying novel ways to make the game work for you. Whatever strategy you employ now will not diminished how the community views you, in my opinion. Whether you choose to continue the soft defense or switch to a hard one - or somewhere in between - you've fought long and hard.

[John 3rd]

February 12, 1945

The prognosis for this turn is extreme violence. Running it now...

[adarbrauner]

What about the South Pacific raid?

What about any other enemy commercial route's interdiction?

Thumbs up for the Tankers runs!!

[Chickenboy]

John,

I've enjoyed reading your AAR. Thanks for doing that for us.

It seems like Dan is a really nice guy and a quality opponent. That was a nice note he sent.

Until everything is finalized though, I'd advise you stick to your gameplan-whatever that may be-and disregard your opponent's egging you into action that would favor his position. You've repeatedly forsworn any 1944-1945 carrier v. carrier deathmatch for a variety of reasons. You've very recently stated that carriers would NEVER be involved in your interdiction of Dan's carrier 1.0x10^6 Deathstar. Just because it pains your opponent to see you 'go quietly into that great goodnight' doesn't mean that opinion should carry any water with you. In fact, he may be using his silver-tongued oratory to his benefit. At least consider his self-serving interests in exhortations to clash on terms that heavily favor him at the point of combat.

[Lecivius]

Antacids like Tums can cause stones.

Keeping you in my thoughts, Michael. [&o]

[John 3rd]

ORIGINAL: Chickenboy

John,

I've enjoyed reading your AAR. Thanks for doing that for us.

It seems like Dan is a really nice guy and a quality opponent. That was a nice note he sent.

Until everything is finalized though, I'd advise you stick to your gameplan-whatever that may be-and disregard your opponent's egging you into action that would favor his position. You've repeatedly forsworn any 1944-1945 carrier v. carrier deathmatch for a variety of reasons. You've very recently stated that carriers would NEVER be involved in your interdiction of Dan's carrier 1.0x10^6 Deathstar. Just because it pains your opponent to see you 'go quietly into that great goodnight' doesn't mean that opinion should carry any water with you. In fact, he may be using his silver-tongued oratory to his benefit. At least consider his self-serving interests in exhortations to clash on terms that heavily favor him at the point of combat.

Most of Japan's carrier fleet is now WAY up NORTH and will disband into oblivion. Very sad but they are not needed.

Their cream-of-the-crop flyers though are now making their presence known.