Canoerebel
Posts: 21100
Joined: 12/14/2002
From: Northwestern Georgia, USA
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A synopsis of the origin, planning and triggering of Operation Allen Poe (all operations in this game - there shouldn't be many since it's mid 1944 - will come from American literature).
Origin: We started the game effective 3/1/1944. Within two or three days, I had chose the NoPac strategy. I think the initial decision was made on March 2 or 3, when I found a USA division at East Coast 100% prepped for East Coast. The question: What to switch prep to? The answer: Korea.
Getting Started: With a focus on Korea, the biggest tasks were prep and retrieving the massive, massive, massive army in SWPac. Much of this army was very far forward - right on the front lines. The prospect of pulling out divisions and brigades and HQ units from right under Erik's nose was daunting. I had visions of air strikes and combat ship raids and utter mayhem. Instead, everything went incredibly well. It took 2+ months, but I don't think I lost a ship. Erik knew what was going on (he had places like Rabaul under close scrutiny) but he probably drew errant deductions, since I seem to have caught him by surprise.
Modifications: Gradually, over the course of a few weeks, I identified Toyohara and Shikuka as important secondary targets. These gradually became the primary targets, along with some of the Kuriles. The Korean targets faded as the reality of the immensity of a deep operation against an excellent opponent hit home. IE: planning helped me understand just how tough this was going to be.
Progress: By the end of April 1944, the retrieval was beginning to wind down and prep was really making progress. The rally point was Pearl Harbor, where I eventually accumulated more than 11,500 AV and far more than 1700 ships (the Screen won't show anything over 1300). I envision a trigger date of early June 1944 - IE, the armada would leave Pearl on or about then.
Misdirection and the Like: All the while, the Allies focused on little operations to take the lightly-held Marshalls and Gilberts. I don't know if this had any impact on Erik's thinking whatsoever. From the outset, the culmination was to be a faux invasion of Marcus involving full Death Star. The plan was to approaching Marcus slowly - agonizingly slowly - so that Erik might draw up some eight-hex-strike plans. Then, at a propitious moment, the faux merchants would turn around and Death Star would leap forward. I was hoping to draw a big carrier battle in the open...in hopes that a victory would really help the looming operation in NoPac.
SigInt: Very helpful as I began to put together a good picture as the days crept into mid March. It became clear that Erik had no holes in his defenses; his major infantry units and HQ units were prudently dispersed at all kinds key places. It looked like he was defending forward in Burma and China, which I deemed a mistake. And I concluded it might well be possible to overwhelm him at a single point, as long as he wasn't forewarned or guessing right.
Ripening: Even as I began to pull together the Marcus op, things started happening that quickened the pulse. Erik's game with Lowpe had reached a fever pitch. I looked like he was giving all his attention to that game, and with good reason. And then I got a SigInt that he had a small infantry unit aboard ship bound for Sadogashima in the Sea of Japan. This set the warning bells to ringing - to that point all had been quiet in the targeted theater of operations. And I wanted to do as much as possible while Erik was absorbed in his game with Jeff on the theory that I had better take advantage of every little thing.
Triggering: As I began to assemble the mock Marcus invasion force in early- to mid-May, I made the decision to proceed with the entire Operation. This took a good 10 days of work. Massive TFs would load at Pearl and then report to Midway or vicinity while others loaded in their place. To load 11,000 AV plus tons of supply and fuel took a long time. Consequently, the armada became scattered with TFs everywhere. Some I realized wouldn't make it in time - these were dispatched to the Aleutians. Others were late arriving - like CV Hancock - and had to catch up. Hancock didn't catch up until far north of Midway. The result of the early implementation of the plan was saving about two weeks at the expense of leaving behind one CVL and several CVEs (later arrivals) and a number of big merchant TFs of secondary importance. Overall, I was very pleased with what did make it.
Surprise? The Armada seemed to proceed in relative peace and quiet. My impression - and this may be way off - is that Erik picked up on scattered small stuff and concluded that this was likely a bluff. I wasn't sure, though. And given Erik's reputation, I feared an all-out assault at any minute. In particular, his carriers and subs worried me. But the Armada proceeded. Erik didn't really seem to catch on until he got major reports when the Armada was about 10 hexes from the Kuriles. The fact that only a few subs were present while dozens were streaming up from the south suggest that the Allies did achieve a level of surprise that I had hoped for but never really expected to achieve.
That's how we ended up with this massive invasion of NoPac. Later, I'll go into how I think Erik might respond, given what I now know about his preparations and force dispositions. But it's still scary that I don't know where he combat ships and carriers are and given his ability as a player.
< Message edited by Canoerebel -- 12/11/2017 9:11:51 PM >
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RE: Notes from a Small Island - 
You named a few posts ago a secondary force, I wonder whether it's to reinforce / disembark a lot of support units, or to strike at other nearby bases. The Kuriles do seem possible, to open a path. But then again, I don't know if they're worth it...
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