A family affair - Speedy vs El Padre

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Speedysteve
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A family affair - Speedy vs El Padre

Post by Speedysteve »

Hi All,

This is an AAR for my first Japanese PBEM game in years.

I'm playing against my Dad for the first time which should be fun! I'm quite a bit more experienced at AE than my Dad (he's only played against the AI) but hopefully with me playing the Japanese (and the inherent disadvantages this brings) and the fact I haven't played them for years will help make this an interesting and competitive game!

Scenario 1
We're playing 1 day turns
Realistic R&D
Allied Damage Control On
Realistic USN Torps
PDU On
Historical First Turn

The only House Rule we have right now is Restricted Land Units must be brought out to cross Country Borders.
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jeffk3510
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RE: A family affair - Speedy vs El Padre

Post by jeffk3510 »

A father/son game would be a lot of fun.

I see myself doing this with my kids when they're old enough.

They're 3.5 and 1.5 right now.

Best of luck to you, and have fun!
Life is tough. The sooner you realize that, the easier it will be.

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Speedysteve
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RE: A family affair - Speedy vs El Padre

Post by Speedysteve »

I'm still formulating all of my 1942 Objectives but I'm following the 'standard' Phase 1 opening except I'm bringing more to Malaya as I see it as important to accelerate Phase 2 conquests in the DEI. Here's the initial plans:

LCU assignment and preparation is progressing well. With us having played a historical first turn I'm sticking with most of the historical assignments:

25th Army and 16th Army (- babeldaob units prepping for Mindanao) to Malaya with addition of 4th and 21st Divisions. I'm likely to try the Mersing Gambit with these divisions + 2nd division.

14th Army to Luzon. I just want to hole up the Allies here.

15 Army to Burma.

I have to think what extra forces to send to SoPac to take PM.

All of the little rinky dink SNLF forces will take the tiny unoccupied bases and the larger Babeldaob SNLF units will take Ternate at first.

Still to plan where to place the Air Flotillas but thinking Jolo, Singkawang and Ambon first off.

The 2 x Rgt/Bde around Haiphong will prepare for Palembang.
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Speedysteve
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RE: A family affair - Speedy vs El Padre

Post by Speedysteve »

I'm streamlining Japanese air production on the following. This will take several months to iron out:

Fighters
----------


Army:

Ki-43-1c
Ki-44-IIa
Ki-44-IIc
Ki-84a
Ki-84r
Ki-83

Navy:

A6M2
A6M3
A6M3a
A6M5
A6M5c
A7M2
N1K2-J
J7W1

Fighter-Bombers:
------------------


Army:

Ki-45 KAIa
Ki-102b

Night-Fighters:
------------------


Army:

Ki-45 KAId
Ki-46-III KAI Dinah
Ki-102c

Navy:

J1N1-S
J1N1-Sa
C6N1-S

Dive-Bombers:
--------------


Navy:

D3A1
D4Y3
B7A2 (Torp bomber replacement really even though listed as a DB)

Level Bombers
---------------


Army:

Ki-32
Ki-21-IIa
Ki-49-IIa
Ki-67-Ia (T)
Ki-74-I
Ki-115b

Navy:

G4M1
G3M3
P1Y2

Recon:
---------


Army:

Ki-46-II
Ki-46-III

Navy:

C5M2
J1N1-C
C6N1

Transport:
------------


Army:

Ki-57-I
Ki-57-II
Ki-49-II KAI

Navy:

L3Y2
H6K4-L
H8K2-L
L2D2

Patrol:
---------


Navy:

H6K4
H6K5
H8K1
H8K2

Float Planes:
--------------


Navy:

E13A1
E14Y1
E15K1

Float Fighters:
-----------------


Navy:

A6M2-N

Torpedo Bombers:
-----------------


Navy:

B5N2
B6N2
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Speedysteve
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7th December 1941

Post by Speedysteve »

The Highlights from the historical start were a successful midget subs attack:

Midget Sub attack inside harbor of Pearl Harbor!!!

Japanese Ships
SSX Ha-19, hits 4, heavy damage

Allied Ships
BB Maryland, Torpedo hits 1
PC Taney

Not a bad strike on PH:

Morning Air attack on Pearl Harbor , at 180,107

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid detected at 95 NM, estimated altitude 6,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 31 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 68
B5N2 Kate x 144
D3A1 Val x 126



Allied aircraft
no flights

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 2 damaged
A6M2 Zero: 3 destroyed by flak
B5N2 Kate: 1 destroyed by flak
D3A1 Val: 1 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
A-20A Havoc: 29 damaged
A-20A Havoc: 2 destroyed on ground
B-18A Bolo: 35 damaged
B-18A Bolo: 5 destroyed on ground
PBY-5 Catalina: 111 damaged
PBY-5 Catalina: 10 destroyed on ground
P-40B Warhawk: 53 damaged
P-40B Warhawk: 6 destroyed on ground
B-17D Fortress: 44 damaged
B-17D Fortress: 1 destroyed on ground
B-17E Fortress: 46 damaged
B-17E Fortress: 1 destroyed on ground
F4F-3 Wildcat: 5 damaged
F4F-3 Wildcat: 3 destroyed on ground
SBD-1 Dauntless: 40 damaged
SBD-1 Dauntless: 4 destroyed on ground
R3D-2: 2 damaged
R3D-2: 1 destroyed on ground
P-36A Mohawk: 29 damaged
P-36A Mohawk: 1 destroyed on ground
O-47A: 5 damaged
O-47A: 1 destroyed on ground
C-33: 2 damaged
C-33: 1 destroyed on ground
SNJ-3 Texan: 1 damaged

Allied Ships
xAK Laida
BB Tennessee, Bomb hits 13, heavy fires, heavy damage
BB Maryland, Bomb hits 2, Torpedo hits 1, heavy damage
BB Oklahoma, Bomb hits 12, Torpedo hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
DM Preble, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
CL Honolulu, Bomb hits 5, heavy fires, heavy damage
BB Arizona, Bomb hits 6, Torpedo hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
BB Pennsylvania, Bomb hits 11, Torpedo hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
BB California, Bomb hits 10, Torpedo hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
AV Wright, Torpedo hits 1, on fire
BB West Virginia, Bomb hits 2, Torpedo hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage
CM Oglala
DM Breese
CL St. Louis, Bomb hits 1
CA San Francisco, Bomb hits 3, Torpedo hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
BB Nevada, Bomb hits 10, Torpedo hits 1, heavy fires
DM Montgomery, Bomb hits 1, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
DD Downes, Bomb hits 1, heavy damage
DD Schley, Bomb hits 1
CL Phoenix, Bomb hits 1
CA New Orleans, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage
AVD Hulbert, Bomb hits 1, on fire
DD Shaw, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
CL Helena, Bomb hits 2
CL Detroit, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
AVD Thornton, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
AE Pyro, Bomb hits 1, on fire
AD Rigel, Bomb hits 1, on fire
DD Bagley, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Jarvis, Bomb hits 1, on fire
DD Hull, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
SS Narwhal, Bomb hits 1, heavy damage
DM Pruitt, Bomb hits 1, on fire
CL Raleigh, Bomb hits 1
DD Tucker, Bomb hits 1, on fire
SS Tautog, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk

The only other noteworthy news was BB PoW was sunk but BC Repulse only took 1 x torpedo.

For 8th December I've ordered KB to hang around PH (further to the west) to potentially snag a CV if Dad un-wisely sends them straight back to PH and to attack the Port as a secondary mission. I know I'll lose more planes and pilots but I really want to sink more stuff.
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RE: 7th December 1941

Post by Lecivius »

I'm in
If it ain't broke, don't fix it!
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RE: A family affair - Speedy vs El Padre

Post by pws1225 »

Be careful moving those two units around Hanoi/Haiphong. They are all that keep a tiny little Chinese LCU from waltzing over and snagging Hanoi and Haiphong. Very embarassing and your Dad would never let you forget it!
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RE: A family affair - Speedy vs El Padre

Post by Speedysteve »

ORIGINAL: pws1225

Be careful moving those two units around Hanoi/Haiphong. They are all that keep a tiny little Chinese LCU from waltzing over and snagging Hanoi and Haiphong. Very embarassing and your Dad would never let you forget it!

No worries. I'm moving a couple of Garrison units up there to occupy the bases.
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RE: 7th December 1941

Post by obvert »

Looking forward to this one!

Only one small thought. You don't really need prep for Palembang if you go there quickly. The invasion bonus means your forces can land without prep and before Jan 1 would mean he can't get much there. If you take it much after that and he piles in units, your two brigades might not be enough. Risky though. You definitely need Singkawang active before moving there.
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Speedysteve
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RE: 7th December 1941

Post by Speedysteve »

Hi obvert,

It's just occurred to me that I can land directly at Palembang as it won't cause a shock attack (brain fart there! I was originally thinking of landing at Oosthaven and marching up) You're right though I need Singkawang and it's level 3 AF.

Singkawang is on the phase 1 list (as is the rest of northern Borneo) and should be occupied over the next 2 weeks with an Air Flotilla in place.

The biggest limitation I see in getting Palembang in quickly is lack of invasion shipping!

One thing that was so apparent during my first days orders was the sheer amount of things you have to think of, plan and execute. There's many that are easy to neglect/forget - for example of the many TF's formed in Japanese ports there are several AK/TK ones loading supply/fuel for Babeldaob, Takao, Saigon, Luzon and Malaya to make sure my forces don't run out of supply and fuel.
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RE: A family affair - Speedy vs El Padre

Post by Spidery »

I'm likely to try the Mersing Gambit

The aim of the Mersing Gambit is to cut off the retreat from Malaya. Unless you can do this in the first few days of the war it doesn't gain much and is quite risky if performed before you can get CAP from carriers or Kuantan.

Also, annoyingly, Mersing has only an 8000 supply limit and you will find yourself unloading far more than that and suffering supply spoilage - which seems a terrible waste.

--

Think about what to do with your paratroop units. You have 2 on Formosa and one at Kagoshima.

You can use them to secure undefended bases in the DEI and Philippines but they can also be useful if bases are left undefended in China (e.g. Ankang) or in Burma, or against a weakly defended base such as Port Blair.
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RE: A family affair - Speedy vs El Padre

Post by Speedysteve »

ORIGINAL: Spidery
I'm likely to try the Mersing Gambit

The aim of the Mersing Gambit is to cut off the retreat from Malaya. Unless you can do this in the first few days of the war it doesn't gain much and is quite risky if performed before you can get CAP from carriers or Kuantan.

Also, annoyingly, Mersing has only an 8000 supply limit and you will find yourself unloading far more than that and suffering supply spoilage - which seems a terrible waste.

--

Think about what to do with your paratroop units. You have 2 on Formosa and one at Kagoshima.

You can use them to secure undefended bases in the DEI and Philippines but they can also be useful if bases are left undefended in China (e.g. Ankang) or in Burma, or against a weakly defended base such as Port Blair.


Good points. To a certain extent what happens in Malaya is down to Dad. My aim is to pin him in the Georgetown area with 25th Army whilst 3 divisions land at Mersing. IF he stays up north this could be viable.

I'm sending 70+ Av. Support to Patani to allow me to base LBA to neutralise Singers. We al know that once worn down the allies won't have the replacements to continue the fight.

Interesting thoughts on the Paras. I plan to send them to Saigon and from there either use in DEI or in Burma (depending on how things go).
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RE: A family affair - Speedy vs El Padre

Post by Cribtop »

Banzai! You are correct, each turn, especially as Japan early on, has a lot on the to do list. Best way to handle that is to do tasks in the same order every time, then double check the important stuff.

Good luck.
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Speedysteve
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RE: A family affair - Speedy vs El Padre

Post by Speedysteve »

Thanks Cribtop.

To help I've made a 'list of major areas to check' each turn on my I-Phone coupled with a series of spreadsheets listing what planes I'm focussing on, LCU plans and longer term factory plans so I know what to do when!
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RE: 7th December 1941

Post by obvert »

ORIGINAL: Speedy

Hi obvert,

It's just occurred to me that I can land directly at Palembang as it won't cause a shock attack (brain fart there! I was originally thinking of landing at Oosthaven and marching up) You're right though I need Singkawang and it's level 3 AF.

Singkawang is on the phase 1 list (as is the rest of northern Borneo) and should be occupied over the next 2 weeks with an Air Flotilla in place.

The biggest limitation I see in getting Palembang in quickly is lack of invasion shipping!

One thing that was so apparent during my first days orders was the sheer amount of things you have to think of, plan and execute. There's many that are easy to neglect/forget - for example of the many TF's formed in Japanese ports there are several AK/TK ones loading supply/fuel for Babeldaob, Takao, Saigon, Luzon and Malaya to make sure my forces don't run out of supply and fuel.

One of the most neglected and IMHO incredibly useful advantages of the IJN is the ability to invade using fast transport TFs. The CL, DD and even the CA (but usually those are moving in cover with the fast transports) can be used to drop naval guards and even regiments in a pinch and it really throws the Allies off because they don't know it's not a SAG through naval search, so they're not expecting an invasion or movement deep behind lines quickly. Of course the IJN needs good search to accomplish these moves, making sure Force Z isn't lurking, which can devastate any landing force.

I freed up a lot of bigger xAP/xAK to use for large units by using quick fast transport invasions to smaller destinations. For the coasts of Borneo it's ideal, as well as some of the Celebes and the Moluccas. Even if they are caught by similar forces the IJN night fighting advantage has usually counter-balanced the reduction in fighting capability for a fast transport TF and I've gotten through just fine.
Interesting thoughts on the Paras. I plan to send them to Saigon and from there either use in DEI or in Burma (depending on how things go).

The paras are great for cutting the Burma road behind the front. Also as mentioned for Port Blair. They can be very good for Prabemolih next to Palembang as well, and/or Djambi, usually weakly defended. Both? [:D]
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RE: 7th December 1941

Post by KenchiSulla »

Do not forget to use single (but escorted) BBs as a bombardement group for the more tricky invasions. It really helps to soften up defending troops.
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RE: 7th December 1941

Post by Spidery »

ORIGINAL: Cannonfodder

Do not forget to use single (but escorted) BBs as a bombardement group for the more tricky invasions. It really helps to soften up defending troops.

But don't use them when invading bases with oil wells. You don't want to wreck the facilities! Instead, embed them in the amphibious force.
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RE: 7th December 1941

Post by Speedysteve »

Thanks Guys,

Obvert - Interesting on the FT TF's. I hadn't considered them, being an Allied player, and it hadn't occurred to me as it's not really an option much for the Allies.

Re: Para's. The only reticence I have dropping them on oil bases is the corresponding shock attack means there's more chance of damage to the industry which I have to avoid.
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RE: 7th December 1941

Post by JocMeister »

Good luck Speedy! Go easy on your old man! [:)]
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RE: 7th December 1941

Post by Speedysteve »

Thanks Jocke[;)]

This 'rivalry' goes back to when I was a kid and Dad got me into C64 games such as USAAF and War in the South Pacific. Not sure I know how to go easy though [;)]
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