GJ (Allies) - Mr.Kane (Japan) - The allies declare their defeat

[GreyJoy]

Ok, some time ago have started my 4th game as the allies. The first was the well know epic duel with Rader, then I had 2 early victories with Japan surrendering in March and May 1942... and so this is my 4th.

We're playing DBB with extended map, stacking limits and reduced cargo capabilities (THE BEST of the best IMHO)

mmm...how can I tell you.... yes, i'm losing India again in may 1942! [:D]

Japan has conquered Cylon, Madras, the whole central India and now 200,000 yellow bastards are at the very gates of Bombay, with Calcutta and Dacca (and Assam region) isolated from the rest. Scoodra has fallen and the emergency reinforcements cannot arrive in the continent

China is a mess. The new patch (that forces automatic retreats when out of supplies) limiting my ability to defend...lost Changsha and now Chikkiang is about to fall... supply situation is horrible.

We've been able to counterattack few times, using aggressively the allied CVs. Got a couple of CVEs and a BBs while they were landing in Java and managed to delay their advance for a couple of weeks. Noumea was invaded but we counterattacked with 2 CVs and counterinvaded it, while the KB was away. Japan holds Suva but we estabilished a strong presence on their flanks with Pago Pago and Noumea full of allied troops.


Another thrilling adventure!!!!

However this time, after having seen and studied the Japanese side for more than a year, I feel much much more confortable.

...but my opponent seems to have studied the Indian campaign a lot and he's making no mistakes...

I've just managed to sink half of the 56th Division while at sea near Mangalore, ambushing them with some SCTFs and with a couple of American CVs.... and the simple presence of my CVs made the KB moving back (now seen near Balikapan rushing to India).

Now it's all up to Bombay and its defenders...if we can hold it I can get back...if I lose it i'll probably lose the whole continent this time

[Canoerebel]

Great, a new GJ AAR! Now, who's your opponent?

[witpqs]

Crikey!

We need maps. [:)]

[GreyJoy]

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

Great, a new GJ AAR! Now, who's your opponent?

Don't think i'll do a complete AAR. For sure I wanted to skip the first boring months... but the match against QBall (which will be resumed on July 16th) has the priority, also for what concerns the AAR...and I don't have that much time lately (well, until august anyway).

My opponent is Mr.Kane. I can tell you: he may not be that well known on the forums but he's a damned good Japanese opponent who knows its job far better than me

[GreyJoy]

ORIGINAL: witpqs

Crikey!

We need maps. [:)]

Soon!!!!

[House Stark]

They probably thought you would never expect the main target to be India again, considering how you spent 2-3 years of game time fighting over it last time.

[Olorin]

ORIGINAL: GreyJoy

mmm...how can I tell you.... yes, i'm losing India again in may 1942! [:D]

[:D]

The answer to this is to invade the Kurilles and Hokkaido. But don't tell the forum, pretend you are attacking in SoPac.

[Cribtop]

Cool! Bring on them maps!

PS - Is your AAR title a Mario Balotelli reference?

PPS - See, some Americans do follow football!

[MAurelius]

I wonder what came first - the Greyjoyisms... or the "Balotellata"...

[Knucles2]

This is gonna be one tough game. I mean, the Japs beat the Cylons!!!!

Sorry, couldn't resist

[BBfanboy]

ORIGINAL: Knucles2

This is gonna be one tough game. I mean, the Japs beat the Cylons!!!!

Sorry, couldn't resist

I thought that too, but I wasn't sure if Battlestar Galactica made it to Italian TV...

[GreyJoy]

No, despite i'm a AC Milan supporter, i don't like Balotelli at all. It's the typical example of the cliché of the ignorant italian sportman...

However... The siege of Bombay has begun...


MAY 17, 1942.. the first artillery skermishes at the gates of the big city

Ground combat at Bombay (36,24)

Allied Bombardment attack

Attacking force 68989 troops, 979 guns, 1210 vehicles, Assault Value = 2628

Defending force 93663 troops, 1254 guns, 670 vehicles, Assault Value = 2922

Japanese ground losses:
12 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Allied ground losses:
6 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Assaulting units:
150th RAC Regiment
50th Tank Brigade
Bombay Fortress
7th Indian Division
84th Indian Brigade
16th Light Cavalry Regiment
7th Australian Division
23rd Indian Division
26th Indian Division
255th Armoured Brigade
20th Indian Division
42nd Cavalry Regiment
Waziristan Division
308th Base Group
2nd Hyderabad Base Force
1st Indian Coastal Artillery Regiment
24th Indian Mountain Gun Regiment
2/9th Field Regiment
India Command
25th Indian Mountain Gun Regiment
102nd RN Base Force
225 Group RAF
20th Indian Mountain Gun Regiment
1st Hyderabad Base Force
21st Light AA Regiment
222 Group Base Force
208th RAF Adv Base Force
2/11th Field Regiment
2/2 AIF Pioneer Battalion
43rd Construction Regiment
6th Heavy AA Regiment
3rd Hyderabad Base Force
Southern Command
2nd Indian Coastal Artillery Regiment
IV Indian Corps
2/1st Med Regiment
1st Bombay Construction Battalion
6th Medium Regiment
Pathan Construction Battalion
221 Group Base Force
223 RAF Base Force
46th Construction Regiment
1st South India Base Force
1st Madras Construction Battalion
Sikh Construction Battalion

Defending units:
6th Guards Division
48th Division
23rd Ind Engineer Regiment
38th Division
Imperial Guards Division
2nd Division
18th Division
5th Guards Engineer Regiment
5th Mortar Battalion
1st Hvy.Artillery Regiment
18th Medium Field Artillery Regiment
23rd Medium Field Artillery Regiment
2nd Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion
15th Ind.Art.Mortar Battalion
1st RF Gun Battalion
3rd Medium Field Artillery Regiment
9th RF Gun Battalion
8th Medium Field Artillery Regiment
9th Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion
3rd Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion
6th Field Construction Battalion
1st Medium Field Artillery Regiment
3rd Ind. Mountain Gun Regiment
8th RF Gun Battalion
14th Ind.Art.Mortar Battalion
10th RF Gun Battalion
3rd Mortar Battalion
20th Ind. Mtn Gun Battalion
2nd Ind.Art.Mortar Battalion
2nd Mortar Battalion
10th Ind. Mountain Gun Regiment
21st Army


Many more japanese units are reported arriving... but Bombay has room only for 160,000 men, so he will have to chose carefully his army composition.

I have 600,000 supplies, 6 forts and (as they used to say in the opening of BSG...yes, BSG made to italy! who do you think we are!? third world!?!? [:D]).... and....i have a plan

[GreyJoy]

MRKane set up a very innovative strategy:

He first went ALL in for Manila and Singapore. I did my best but he did made a wonderfull malayan campaign (with a retarded Mersing Gambit, that costed him the Yamashiro, but that managed to cut off a couple of my Indian Bdes from the usual retreat to the fortress) and a perfect Luzon one.
He used the 15th Army in a very strange way, moving everything to Singa, and leaving Burma to the Thai divisions. I didn't expect this move and so i didn't send any reinforce to Burma, falling back with the 1st Burma division to Mitikina, while 4 Thai divisions conquered the Southern Burma.

He conquered immediately Palembang, before December 25, and after the fall of Singa sent 3 divisions to Java where i ambushed his mini-KB with Yorktown and Sara, sinking 2 CVEs.
However he sent the KB to clear the path of his landings and i fell back into the shades, while his units had a very easy Java campaign.
He then didn't go for Timor or Southern DEI but sent immediately everything he had to Cylon. He conquered everything but Colombo, that lasted 3 weeks, and then Madras...at that point i realized it was for real and started to move my units into the fortresses (Bombay, Calcutta and Karachi).
I have divided my forces. Yes.
scoodra was immediately conquered by a huge army, so activating the Emergency reinforcements but all those troops are now stuck at aden cause he controlls the sealanes with several Netties squadrons based at Scoodra.
However i tried to keep him busy and used very aggressively my CVs. a TF of 3 CVs (York, Sara and Lex) ambushed one of his convoys near Mangalore, sinking half of the 56th Division and forcing him to send the KB back from Truk (now approaching Cocos).

In the I.O. i managed to hold Cocos. He sent 6 Naval Guards Units to conquer it but the got shamshed on the beaches by a Corp composed of 2 Indian Bde, 1 ducth Cav regiment and some artillery units, supported by CD guns and AA. Now he's busy sending BBs to bomb it to dust every week.

In the pacific, he went immediately for Suva, conquering it and estabilishing a strong aerial presence, along with several SAGs. A force composed of 2 US CVs and 2 Brit CVs ambushed his surface units, sinking at least 4 CLs and some 5 DDs and covering the counterlanding of the I AUS Corp at Noumea

[GreyJoy]

In the map you can see the japanese advancing vectors and the allied strongpoints

[GreyJoy]

With Suva and the Whole Fiji complex in his hands i decided to build up on his flanks. Immediately sent a strong force to Pago which is now unconquerable. he did his best in order to suppress it, both using Bombarment TFs and his Betties, but mines, PTs, subs and CD guns stopped him cold.
A lonely USMC squadron with 18 F4F3 is managing to keep his zeros honest, fighting everyday against his sweeps and against not less than 70 betties operating from Suva.

However it is clear that for him the pacific is a backwater now... he wants India

[GreyJoy]

In China i did well, but the new beta is really screwing me. Now if a unit remains at zero supply, even if in a controlled hex and supported by several other units with supplies, it gets disorganized and falls back... so China cannot be defended. My armies keep on retreating even after winning battles...which is a PITA!!!

However we stopped him cold at Sian, forcing him to abbandon the idea of conquering the North. He then shifted all his armies in the center, forcing for Changsha... after a series of battles he finally managed to find a soft spot in my defences and forced me to bug out of the Whole Changsha basin... i had hoped to hold Chikkiang line but with all my units at zero supplies, it's impossible... think i'll lose China once again[:o]

[GreyJoy]

The siege of Bombay

[GreyJoy]

Now the KB is surely coming to close every possible sea route to/from India.
But this time i won't do the same mistake i did with Rader... I will try to exploit the absence of the KB in the pacific and in other areas as fast as i can. The KB can't stay forever in India...and he will need most of his LBA in India as well...so he will be weak in many other places.

How much will he need to take Bombay? I think he won't be able to do so without his BBs bombing it every day...and even with that, won't be easy. 2500 AVs behind 6 forts is a tough nut to crack.

However the key point is to remain "strategical". Which is the best way to exploit the fact that all his LCUs are bound in China and India and that his naval forces are all there?...

Mariannas? Kuriles? Timor?...lots of interesting choices

[Encircled]

Got to be the DEI

[obvert]

Fantastic! [:D]

Interesting game. Quite a gamble by the Japanese to try for the same as your first game, but great for us to see how you've improved and will take advantage of it this time. Looks like you'll be fine this time. Japan overextending. In China if you keep the mountains you're okay as you know from your game with Brad. Hit him where it hurts now.

DEI. Take what you can, then build it. Then the Marianas. There will be little there. That's my two cents.