THREAD War: Mike & Mike - Mike Solli (J) vs. USS America (A)

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THREAD War: Mike & Mike - Mike Solli (J) vs. USS Americ... - 2/28/2019 7:24:58 PM

USSAmerica

Posts: 18715
Joined: 10/28/2002
From: Graham, NC, USA
Status: offline

Mike and I have been friends online for many years and it's finally time to face off in the Pacific.

He approached me a couple of months ago about starting a game and is happy to have one with a relatively slow pace. Once we get rolling, I'm hoping to get in 3-4 turns/week. He has had his game going with Ted for many years now and is eager to start applying some of his lessons learned to a new game. Despite being an AE Plank Owner, I have very little time and experience with actual games. I've never had a game make it into '43. I'm hoping that lots of reading and learning in the forums will help to make up for some lack of experience.

We're playing stock Scn 1 with the latest official patch. The twist for us that is completely new for Mike and an adjustment for me is that we're going to try 2 day turns. Everything we've read seems to indicate that it slows down the operational pace of both sides a bit as you have to be a little more cautious with your orders. We're hoping 2 day turns will also allow us to make some progress in time in the game despite a slow pace of play. We learned (thanks Alfred!) that there is a new command line switch that the Japanese player can run the game with that will allow switching between 1 and 2 day turns, so we're using only 1 day turn for the first turn, then Mike will switch it to 2 day turns. The first turn will be Non-Historical.

After taking some time to get all his nefarious plans set and for me to get some things behind me with work, Mike sent the first turn yesterday evening. Outside China, I can give orders only to TF's that start the scenario already formed. I'll finish up with that and China orders and hopefully send the turn back to Mike tonight.

Mike is not sure if he'll write an AAR from his side, simply due to the time involved. I want to write this one as much as I can make time for as I've found in the past that it helps me pay attention to little things from turn to turn that I might otherwise overlook. No guarantees as to how frequently I'll be able to keep up with the AAR, but full, non-spoiler participation from any readers is most welcome. I'm happy to listen to any and all advice and suggestions.

GENERAL QUARTERS! GENERAL QUARTERS! ALL HANDS MAN YOUR BATTLE STATIONS! SET CONDITION ZEBRA THROUGHOUT THE SHIP!

To the bridge! Where's my coffee mug?

_____________________________

Mike

"Good times will set you free" - Jimmy Buffett

"They need more rum punch" - Me

Artwork by The Amazing Dixie

Post #: 1

RE: THREAD War: Mike & Mike - Mike Solli (J) vs. USS Am... - 2/28/2019 7:41:09 PM

Mike Solli

Posts: 15792
Joined: 10/18/2000
From: the flight deck of the Zuikaku
Status: offline

Hi guys. This is my one and only visit here. I'm pretty excited about this. As Mike said, we've been online friends for many years. A slow game will allow me to keep my game with Ted going easily.

I do want to thank Mike for graciously accepting my offer. (That will probably be the last nice thing I say about him.

)

I'm a bit concerned about 2 day turns. Frankly, it scares the hell out of me.

We will do 1 day turns on occasion when there's a potential R&D issue. It should be pretty infrequent though and only at the end of a month.

I'm tempted to do another AAR. It is time consuming but as Mike said, it does help a lot. And being an empty nester, I do have the time.

Ahh, one last thing:

<Insert mandatory taunting here>

Now lets see if I learned anything from my other game....

Good luck, Mike. (But not too much!)

_____________________________

Created by the amazing Dixie

(in reply to USSAmerica)

Post #: 2

RE: THREAD War: Mike & Mike - Mike Solli (J) vs. USS Am... - 2/28/2019 7:43:51 PM

zuluhour

Posts: 5244
Joined: 1/20/2011
From: Maryland
Status: offline

signed up.stop. Very curious to watch two day turns unfold.stop. I have thoroughly enjoyed peeking in at Mikes ongoing epic saga. stop.
I hereby promise only to visit other Mikes AAR by accident. stop. As an AFB I look forward to the master of Industry manipulators eventual
demise. stop. Fair winds. stop.

Attachment (1)

< Message edited by zuluhour -- 2/28/2019 7:44:14 PM >

(in reply to USSAmerica)

Post #: 3

RE: THREAD War: Mike & Mike - Mike Solli (J) vs. USS Am... - 2/28/2019 7:58:16 PM

USSAmerica

Posts: 18715
Joined: 10/28/2002
From: Graham, NC, USA
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Mike Solli

Ahh, one last thing:

<Insert mandatory taunting here>

Now lets see if I learned anything from my other game....

Good luck, Mike. (But not too much!)

Thanks, Mike! I wish you small amounts of mediocre luck as well.

_____________________________

Mike

"Good times will set you free" - Jimmy Buffett

"They need more rum punch" - Me

Artwork by The Amazing Dixie

(in reply to Mike Solli)

Post #: 4

RE: THREAD War: Mike & Mike - Mike Solli (J) vs. USS Am... - 2/28/2019 8:07:00 PM

USSAmerica

Posts: 18715
Joined: 10/28/2002
From: Graham, NC, USA
Status: offline

OK, down to business.

We're playing with minimal but very common HR's:

Generally, if it's gamey, don't do it. :)

1. Blackhorse�s house rules to enforce "Original Intent" for PP�s to transfer LCU�s:
a. Restricted LCUs may transfer to any on-map Corps, Army or Command HQs (only).
b. HQs may not be reassigned from an unrestricted Command HQ chain-of-command to a restricted Command HQ chain-of-command.
c. Engineer-type units, including base forces, can be assigned to any on-map HQs
d.Thai forces can leave Thailand for any purposes to max 4 hexes from the Thai border. Same for Indian troops within 4 hexes of Indian border.

Edit: After discussion we agreed to remove all other HR's. The game will be played with only this one.

< Message edited by USSAmerica -- 3/1/2019 2:37:51 PM >

_____________________________

Mike

"Good times will set you free" - Jimmy Buffett

"They need more rum punch" - Me

Artwork by The Amazing Dixie

(in reply to USSAmerica)

Post #: 5

RE: THREAD War: Mike & Mike - Mike Solli (J) vs. USS Am... - 2/28/2019 8:53:41 PM

USSAmerica

Posts: 18715
Joined: 10/28/2002
From: Graham, NC, USA
Status: offline

Here's what I'm expecting to see from Mike in our game:

Meticulous planning.

This is probably no surprise to anyone who has read his AAR's for past games. I'm sure his economy will run very efficiently and it will be very strong well into the late game. Consequently, I expect to run into hordes of late war aircraft and well supplied, dug in troops trying to hold onto their conquests.

I expect him to have a fully detailed timetable for his land, air, and sea forces as they roll over the weakly defended SRA in the early war. He will probably know what his units should be doing in the first, second, and third months of the war.

Mike is not typically a crazy aggressive Japanese player. I don't anticipate any "go for broke" Portland attacks, nor any attempts to capture Pearl Harbor.

One of the biggest joys of the game for him is managing, feeding, growing, and sustaining the Japanese economy and war machine. Any of the extreme strategies we've seen from other players would likely take away the opportunity to have a long war to play with his economy.

Now, I would not rule out any attacks on Australia or India by any means. I will be sure to account for these possibilities in my plans.

Consequently, I intend to play moderately to fairly conservatively for the first months. I don't think mainland India will be in any danger of being totally lost to conquest, but Ceylon is exposed. The available unrestricted forces in the theater will go to Ceylon to defend it early on. US forces will not race to defend Noumea or Lunga early on and risk getting crushed offshore by the KB and a very strong IJN. Nor will I risk them being pushed far forward, only to have supply lines cut and then lose them to an attrition campaign. Early US available forces will methodically defend Hawaii first and expand to defend and build up the island chain to Oz. This means at least some defenders for Palmyra, Canton Island, Johnston Island, as well as a stronger position on Pago Pago and then Suva. From that base of operations, I can expand to Noumea, Lunga, etc. In Oz, I'll make sure the Brisbane/Sydney/Melbourne region is defended first. Then I'll push up the coast toward Port Moresby.

The Darwin area is an exception. Here I want to fight and fight hard if I can. Any refugees from the PI and DEI will retreat to Darwin to defend and build it up. I'll try to push as much supply as I can get into Darwin in the early weeks of the war to hold the region over once the sea lanes become very dangerous. I also expect the two experienced Aussie divisions that arrive from the fighting in Egypt will go here, unless there is a crisis somewhere else by the time they arrive. I was on the winning side of a big fight in this area in a game many years ago and I'd like to deter Mike from invading or prevent him from capturing the area if at all possible.

In Malaya and the DEI I will turtle a bit and look for a chance to get in a good counter punch or two. I'm not going to try to hold any of these parts for long, but I want to disrupt Mike's timetable as much as I can. Slowing him down as much as I can without losing all of my naval forces in the region is my goal. I'll try to guard against a Mersing Gambit while retreating to Singapore and building forts. I think holding out in Singers as long as possible is more effective than trying to fight his troops in the countryside of Malaya. Also, the longer Singapore holds out, the longer I'll possibly be able to keep the Burma Road open. Even the first month or two of BR supplies getting into China can make a big difference in their ability to act as speed bumps. LOL

Since the well oiled machinery of his economy is Mike's baby, I want to hit and hurt his production where ever I can. Oil is of course the weak point. I think if I hurt his oil production, even a little bit, he will react quite strongly to (hopefully over) protect it. Anticipating that his economy will be strong, he should have no trouble producing as many LCU replacements as he needs, as well as hordes of aircraft. The one thing that there is a hard limit on his ability to produce is ships. I'm going to target his ships in every way possible as much as possible. Any xAK that I sink in early '42 will be an enormous amount of resources or supply that can't be moved. I'll especially go hunting for his TK's as much as possible, mainly with my subs early on.

Once I see how well (or poorly) I've been able to slow down his advance and where, I'll start to make offensive plans to take advantage of the game situation as best as I can.

_____________________________

Mike

"Good times will set you free" - Jimmy Buffett

"They need more rum punch" - Me

Artwork by The Amazing Dixie

(in reply to USSAmerica)

Post #: 6

RE: THREAD War: Mike & Mike - Mike Solli (J) vs. USS Am... - 2/28/2019 8:54:13 PM

Lecivius

Posts: 4845
Joined: 8/5/2007
From: Denver
Status: offline

_____________________________

If it ain't broke, don't fix it!

(in reply to USSAmerica)

Post #: 7

RE: THREAD War: Mike & Mike - Mike Solli (J) vs. USS Am... - 2/28/2019 9:52:53 PM

RangerJoe

Posts: 13450
Joined: 11/16/2015
From: My Mother, although my Father had some small part.
Status: offline

Fair winds and following seas . . .

_____________________________

Seek peace but keep your gun handy.

I'm not a complete idiot, some parts are missing!

�Illegitemus non carborundum est (�Don�t let the bastards grind you down�).�
― Julia Child

(in reply to Lecivius)

Post #: 8

RE: THREAD War: Mike & Mike - Mike Solli (J) vs. USS Am... - 3/1/2019 8:40:06 AM

obvert

Posts: 14050
Joined: 1/17/2011
From: PDX (and now) London, UK
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: USSAmerica

OK, down to business.

We're playing with minimal but very common HR's:

Generally, if it's gamey, don't do it. :)

1. Blackhorse�s house rules to enforce "Original Intent" for PP�s to transfer LCU�s:
a. Restricted LCUs may transfer to any on-map Corps, Army or Command HQs (only).
b. HQs may not be reassigned from an unrestricted Command HQ chain-of-command to a restricted Command HQ chain-of-command.
c. Engineer-type units, including base forces, can be assigned to any on-map HQs
d.Thai forces can leave Thailand for any purposes to max 4 hexes from the Thai border. Same for Indian troops within 4 hexes of Indian border.

2. No strategic bombing against targets in China/Manchuria at any time.

3. Stratosphere Sweep... as suggested by TheElf: "Simply: no fighter sweeps higher then the ALT with the second best MVR value" He later states that there is no need to limit CAP "target" or "patrol" altitude for various reasons.

Looking forward to this one!

Interesting HRs.

For the no strat bombing in China, I'm playing with it as Japan, and it kind of skews the game to not have to defend those bases. I think it gives Japan a big advantage (and impetus) in taking all of China and keeping it without any detriment to the economy. Having the extra industry will help a lot in the later stages when China is potentially cut off from Japan.

For the strat sweeps, the 2nd best band rule doesn't really work to solve the dive advantage problem. You'd be much better off simply flying a low layered CAP against high sweeps, and have a full arsenal of options for different airframes during different periods.

I know its takes the "real" feel out of some of the air war, but the 2nd band HR isn't a helper in that regard. It's a pain in the butt to work with and really hampers creative settings for both sides. It didn't help stop high sweeps when I used it, and some IJA planes were monsters late with that rule until the P-47N arrived. The Ki-84r dominates with the 2nd band rule.

Maneuvre bands work well to simulate different capabilities I've found in all stages of the war.

_____________________________

"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm." - Winston Churchill

(in reply to USSAmerica)

Post #: 9

RE: THREAD War: Mike & Mike - Mike Solli (J) vs. USS Am... - 3/1/2019 11:35:30 AM

GetAssista

Posts: 2732
Joined: 9/19/2009
Status: offline

(in reply to obvert)

Post #: 10

RE: THREAD War: Mike & Mike - Mike Solli (J) vs. USS Am... - 3/1/2019 12:20:37 PM

USSAmerica

Posts: 18715
Joined: 10/28/2002
From: Graham, NC, USA
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: obvert

quote:

ORIGINAL: USSAmerica

OK, down to business.

We're playing with minimal but very common HR's:

Generally, if it's gamey, don't do it. :)

1. Blackhorse�s house rules to enforce "Original Intent" for PP�s to transfer LCU�s:
a. Restricted LCUs may transfer to any on-map Corps, Army or Command HQs (only).
b. HQs may not be reassigned from an unrestricted Command HQ chain-of-command to a restricted Command HQ chain-of-command.
c. Engineer-type units, including base forces, can be assigned to any on-map HQs
d.Thai forces can leave Thailand for any purposes to max 4 hexes from the Thai border. Same for Indian troops within 4 hexes of Indian border.

2. No strategic bombing against targets in China/Manchuria at any time.

3. Stratosphere Sweep... as suggested by TheElf: "Simply: no fighter sweeps higher then the ALT with the second best MVR value" He later states that there is no need to limit CAP "target" or "patrol" altitude for various reasons.

Looking forward to this one!

Interesting HRs.

For the no strat bombing in China, I'm playing with it as Japan, and it kind of skews the game to not have to defend those bases. I think it gives Japan a big advantage (and impetus) in taking all of China and keeping it without any detriment to the economy. Having the extra industry will help a lot in the later stages when China is potentially cut off from Japan.

For the strat sweeps, the 2nd best band rule doesn't really work to solve the dive advantage problem. You'd be much better off simply flying a low layered CAP against high sweeps, and have a full arsenal of options for different airframes during different periods.

I know its takes the "real" feel out of some of the air war, but the 2nd band HR isn't a helper in that regard. It's a pain in the butt to work with and really hampers creative settings for both sides. It didn't help stop high sweeps when I used it, and some IJA planes were monsters late with that rule until the P-47N arrived. The Ki-84r dominates with the 2nd band rule.

Maneuvre bands work well to simulate different capabilities I've found in all stages of the war.

Thanks for your observations and experience, Obvert! I've had no first hand experience with the second two HR's fixing any issues. They are in place in our game purely from the general consensus that they are "standard". I'd probably rather dump the 2nd MVR band rule, as I'll likely forget about it at some point with all the orders clicks that are coming my way.

Strategic bombing in China/Manchuria I can take or leave.

_____________________________

Mike

"Good times will set you free" - Jimmy Buffett

"They need more rum punch" - Me

Artwork by The Amazing Dixie

(in reply to obvert)

Post #: 11

RE: THREAD War: Mike & Mike - Mike Solli (J) vs. USS Am... - 3/1/2019 12:23:05 PM

USSAmerica

Posts: 18715
Joined: 10/28/2002
From: Graham, NC, USA
Status: offline

I'm not quite finished with my China orders so the turn won't go back to Mike until tonight. It's easy to forget how chaotic China is at the start of the campaign.

Come turn 2 when I can start issuing orders everywhere, I'll be very glad to have China already in motion.

_____________________________

Mike

"Good times will set you free" - Jimmy Buffett

"They need more rum punch" - Me

Artwork by The Amazing Dixie

(in reply to USSAmerica)

Post #: 12

RE: THREAD War: Mike & Mike - Mike Solli (J) vs. USS Am... - 3/1/2019 2:35:42 PM

USSAmerica

Posts: 18715
Joined: 10/28/2002
From: Graham, NC, USA
Status: offline

Mike and I have discussed the HR points that obvert made above and we've decided to streamline our HR's even more. We're dumping #'s 2 and 3, so the only HR will be paying full price PP to buy out units. I'll amend the HR post above.

_____________________________

Mike

"Good times will set you free" - Jimmy Buffett

"They need more rum punch" - Me

Artwork by The Amazing Dixie

(in reply to USSAmerica)

Post #: 13

RE: THREAD War: Mike & Mike - Mike Solli (J) vs. USS Am... - 3/2/2019 1:42:21 AM

BrucePowers

Posts: 12094
Joined: 7/3/2004
Status: offline

Hi Mike. I just wanted to say hi. I want to follow your AAR. I don't want to spill any beans on someone inadvertently if I know to much information so I will probably not visit Mike Solli's AAR too often if at all.

After my one try at an email game with you guys in the past I really do not want to try another one. I find them too time consuming. I still keep in touch with you, Mike and Bob Trappaso. I had the pleasure of visiting Bob last summer in Virginia and hope to do so this summer.

I wished Mike well in the game but I will be routing for you

(in reply to USSAmerica)

Post #: 14

RE: THREAD War: Mike & Mike - Mike Solli (J) vs. USS Am... - 3/2/2019 2:42:34 AM

USSAmerica

Posts: 18715
Joined: 10/28/2002
From: Graham, NC, USA
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: BrucePowers

Hi Mike. I just wanted to say hi. I want to follow your AAR. I don't want to spill any beans on someone inadvertently if I know to much information so I will probably not visit Mike Solli's AAR too often if at all.

After my one try at an email game with you guys in the past I really do not want to try another one. I find them too time consuming. I still keep in touch with you, Mike and Bob Trappaso. I had the pleasure of visiting Bob last summer in Virginia and hope to do so this summer.

I wished Mike well in the game but I will be routing for you

Hi Bruce! Good to see you around! I haven't seen Bob around these parts in a long time. I didn't even know he had moved to Virginia. Tell him I said Hi the next time you talk!

_____________________________

Mike

"Good times will set you free" - Jimmy Buffett

"They need more rum punch" - Me

Artwork by The Amazing Dixie

(in reply to BrucePowers)

Post #: 15

RE: THREAD War: Mike & Mike - Mike Solli (J) vs. USS Am... - 3/2/2019 11:45:04 AM

obvert

Posts: 14050
Joined: 1/17/2011
From: PDX (and now) London, UK
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: USSAmerica

quote:

ORIGINAL: obvert

quote:

ORIGINAL: USSAmerica

OK, down to business.

We're playing with minimal but very common HR's:

Generally, if it's gamey, don't do it. :)

1. Blackhorse�s house rules to enforce "Original Intent" for PP�s to transfer LCU�s:
a. Restricted LCUs may transfer to any on-map Corps, Army or Command HQs (only).
b. HQs may not be reassigned from an unrestricted Command HQ chain-of-command to a restricted Command HQ chain-of-command.
c. Engineer-type units, including base forces, can be assigned to any on-map HQs
d.Thai forces can leave Thailand for any purposes to max 4 hexes from the Thai border. Same for Indian troops within 4 hexes of Indian border.

2. No strategic bombing against targets in China/Manchuria at any time.

3. Stratosphere Sweep... as suggested by TheElf: "Simply: no fighter sweeps higher then the ALT with the second best MVR value" He later states that there is no need to limit CAP "target" or "patrol" altitude for various reasons.

Looking forward to this one!

Interesting HRs.

For the no strat bombing in China, I'm playing with it as Japan, and it kind of skews the game to not have to defend those bases. I think it gives Japan a big advantage (and impetus) in taking all of China and keeping it without any detriment to the economy. Having the extra industry will help a lot in the later stages when China is potentially cut off from Japan.

For the strat sweeps, the 2nd best band rule doesn't really work to solve the dive advantage problem. You'd be much better off simply flying a low layered CAP against high sweeps, and have a full arsenal of options for different airframes during different periods.

I know its takes the "real" feel out of some of the air war, but the 2nd band HR isn't a helper in that regard. It's a pain in the butt to work with and really hampers creative settings for both sides. It didn't help stop high sweeps when I used it, and some IJA planes were monsters late with that rule until the P-47N arrived. The Ki-84r dominates with the 2nd band rule.

Maneuvre bands work well to simulate different capabilities I've found in all stages of the war.

Thanks for your observations and experience, Obvert! I've had no first hand experience with the second two HR's fixing any issues. They are in place in our game purely from the general consensus that they are "standard". I'd probably rather dump the 2nd MVR band rule, as I'll likely forget about it at some point with all the orders clicks that are coming my way. Strategic bombing in China/Manchuria I can take or leave.

Cool. Let me know if you need help combating early Japanese high sweeps in 42. They can be tough when their pilot exp is so good and they have the better airframes. A layered CAP seems to get decent results, not putting the early war Allied frames above their best manoeuvre bands. I usually keep them at or below 15k if possible.

_____________________________

"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm." - Winston Churchill

(in reply to USSAmerica)

Post #: 16

RE: THREAD War: Mike & Mike - Mike Solli (J) vs. USS Am... - 3/2/2019 2:25:08 PM

USSAmerica

Posts: 18715
Joined: 10/28/2002
From: Graham, NC, USA
Status: offline

Thanks, obvert!

The turn went back to Mike last night. I'm expecting the carnage to begin sometime today. I swear I heard "Tora! Tora! Tora!" in my dreams last night.

_____________________________

Mike

"Good times will set you free" - Jimmy Buffett

"They need more rum punch" - Me

Artwork by The Amazing Dixie

(in reply to obvert)

Post #: 17

RE: THREAD War: Mike & Mike - Mike Solli (J) vs. USS Am... - 3/2/2019 3:02:31 PM

Bif1961

Posts: 2014
Joined: 6/26/2008
From: Phenix City, Alabama
Status: offline

Good luck and good hunting as you play the Mohammad Ali to his George Foreman the first few rounds. If you want an all out defense of Darwin then I would suggest moving the 18th British Division there, as it is already at sea and you won't have to wait for the Aussie Divisions to show up at Aden later and ship them there. Also ship all the fuel and supplies you can from DEI, there will be enough left for whatever you plan to hold a little while there. You also have some other units afloat, like a Ghurka Bde that you can send somewhere other than India or Burma to hold on, Maybe Palmebang to make him try harder to take it and deny him that oil for awhile or Ceylon and maybe Wyndham. I have never played a game with 2 day turns and the idea frightens me as I have enough problems dealing with life one day at a time. If he doesn't bomb Manila to sink your sun fleet consider using them for mining his bases until the mines run out then use them with their nearly worthless torpedoes. The old S-boats have better torpedoes and the Dutch subs even better. Use them in the more restrictive waters of DEI to hunt the mini-KB. Putting one or two down there with subs really makes anyone nervous. What are you plans for your carriers in the early months of the war?

(in reply to USSAmerica)

Post #: 18

RE: THREAD War: Mike & Mike - Mike Solli (J) vs. USS Am... - 3/3/2019 1:35:01 AM

tc464

Posts: 126
Joined: 2/27/2004
From: Sodom on Potomac
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Bif1961
If you want an all out defense of Darwin then I would suggest moving the 18th British Division there, as it is already at sea and you won't have to wait for the Aussie Divisions to show up at Aden later and ship them there. Also ship all the fuel and supplies you can from DEI, there will be enough left for whatever you plan to hold a little while there.

I'm in a game with Mike Solli now. There were a couple of things I did to him early on that were effective. The most effective move was bringing all of the S boats and Dutch subs and placing them north of Darwin and covering the areas south of Lae and Rabaul, to keep him away from Port Moresby. He lost his first carrier in that area in late Jan 42.

Next, I brought the British 18th Div to Perth, then overland to Townsville, and then to PM. He never landed but boy that would have been a surprise

Finally, after PoW and Repulse were sunk, I made single ship TFs with the destroyers and let them run amok in the South China Sea. Mike hunted most of them down, but not before they trashed several invasion TFs. I delayed his Singapore plans by a couple weeks if I recall correctly.

Mike's a good opponent. This will be a game to watch.

(in reply to Bif1961)

Post #: 19

RE: THREAD War: Mike & Mike - Mike Solli (J) vs. USS Am... - 3/3/2019 6:07:50 PM

IdahoNYer

Posts: 2616
Joined: 9/6/2009
From: NYer living in Boise, ID
Status: offline

Very much looking forward to this PBEM. Will be good to see another AAR with the two day turns! They have proved "interesting" in my game with L_S_T.

(in reply to tc464)

Post #: 20

RE: THREAD War: Mike & Mike - Mike Solli (J) vs. USS Am... - 3/4/2019 3:45:26 AM

USSAmerica

Posts: 18715
Joined: 10/28/2002
From: Graham, NC, USA
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Bif1961

Good luck and good hunting as you play the Mohammad Ali to his George Foreman the first few rounds. If you want an all out defense of Darwin then I would suggest moving the 18th British Division there, as it is already at sea and you won't have to wait for the Aussie Divisions to show up at Aden later and ship them there. Also ship all the fuel and supplies you can from DEI, there will be enough left for whatever you plan to hold a little while there. You also have some other units afloat, like a Ghurka Bde that you can send somewhere other than India or Burma to hold on, Maybe Palmebang to make him try harder to take it and deny him that oil for awhile or Ceylon and maybe Wyndham. I have never played a game with 2 day turns and the idea frightens me as I have enough problems dealing with life one day at a time. If he doesn't bomb Manila to sink your sun fleet consider using them for mining his bases until the mines run out then use them with their nearly worthless torpedoes. The old S-boats have better torpedoes and the Dutch subs even better. Use them in the more restrictive waters of DEI to hunt the mini-KB. Putting one or two down there with subs really makes anyone nervous. What are you plans for your carriers in the early months of the war?

Thanks, Bif! I had been considering sending the 18th Brits to Ceylon, but I think it will be fairly well garrisoned with the unrestricted Indian Rgts. The 18th is on it's way to Darwin as the first building block of the defense.

It's been a long time since I played with 2 day turns, except about 2 months of an AI game. It takes some adjustment to how you perceive your own capabilities.

_____________________________

Mike

"Good times will set you free" - Jimmy Buffett

"They need more rum punch" - Me

Artwork by The Amazing Dixie

(in reply to Bif1961)

Post #: 21

RE: THREAD War: Mike & Mike - Mike Solli (J) vs. USS Am... - 3/4/2019 3:46:39 AM

USSAmerica

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From: Graham, NC, USA
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quote:

ORIGINAL: tc464

quote:

ORIGINAL: Bif1961
If you want an all out defense of Darwin then I would suggest moving the 18th British Division there, as it is already at sea and you won't have to wait for the Aussie Divisions to show up at Aden later and ship them there. Also ship all the fuel and supplies you can from DEI, there will be enough left for whatever you plan to hold a little while there.

I'm in a game with Mike Solli now. There were a couple of things I did to him early on that were effective. The most effective move was bringing all of the S boats and Dutch subs and placing them north of Darwin and covering the areas south of Lae and Rabaul, to keep him away from Port Moresby. He lost his first carrier in that area in late Jan 42.

Next, I brought the British 18th Div to Perth, then overland to Townsville, and then to PM. He never landed but boy that would have been a surprise

Finally, after PoW and Repulse were sunk, I made single ship TFs with the destroyers and let them run amok in the South China Sea. Mike hunted most of them down, but not before they trashed several invasion TFs. I delayed his Singapore plans by a couple weeks if I recall correctly.

Mike's a good opponent. This will be a game to watch.

Thanks, Ted! Mike always speaks highly of you as an opponent. I hope I can manage to hold my own as well.

_____________________________

Mike

"Good times will set you free" - Jimmy Buffett

"They need more rum punch" - Me

Artwork by The Amazing Dixie

(in reply to tc464)

Post #: 22

RE: THREAD War: Mike & Mike - Mike Solli (J) vs. USS Am... - 3/4/2019 3:49:39 AM

USSAmerica

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From: Graham, NC, USA
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I've had the turn since late afternoon on Saturday but had a couple of previous engagements take up some of my time since then. I am working my way through the looooong Allied Turn 2.

Turn 1 was not bad for the Allies at all. We had the game set for 1 day turn for that first one, and from now on it will be 2 days. I'll post more details about the opening attacks once I get finished with the turn and send it off. Game first, AAR second.

_____________________________

Mike

"Good times will set you free" - Jimmy Buffett

"They need more rum punch" - Me

Artwork by The Amazing Dixie

(in reply to USSAmerica)

Post #: 23

RE: THREAD War: Mike & Mike - Mike Solli (J) vs. USS Am... - 3/5/2019 1:35:18 PM

Bif1961

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From: Phenix City, Alabama
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I prefer the cart before the horse but if you insist on the game turn first I will bow to your wishes and bide my time.

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Post #: 24

RE: THREAD War: Mike & Mike - Mike Solli (J) vs. USS Am... - 3/8/2019 8:49:56 PM

USSAmerica

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From: Graham, NC, USA
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Thanks for the patience, guys!

My Turn 2 went off to Mike this afternoon. First, a quick recap of Turn 1.

Pearl Harbor carnage was pretty light compared to many I've seen. Mike hit the airfields harder than most Japanese players. He did lots of damage, both to the base and planes, but he didn't close the airfield. He destroyed 16 Catalinas but only a couple of any other plane type. He did lose 16 Kates in the attack to balance out the Cat losses a bit. At the port, BB California went down, along with a DM and a PT boat. That's it. More than likely, BB West Virginia will be joining California in the mud on the bottom of the harbor. She has 40 System and 98 Flotation damage with 22 fires still burning. It doesn't look good for her. Of the other BB's, Tennessee will be completely repaired from her paint damage in 4 days. The other 6 will be a couple to several months repairing, but none will sink. Only 4 cruisers took damage and only CL St. Louis will take longer than 2 weeks to be completely repaired.

The airfields in the PI were hit pretty good, but not a lot of planes were destroyed. No ships in Manila were damaged. It was a similar story at Singapore. Force Z, already being at sea, was allowed to be issued orders and I sent them out of harm's way toward Soerabaja for now. There were no landings in Malaya, but I've spotted at least 4 TF's in a hex together 4 hexes from Kota Bharu and 5 hexes from Mersing. They could hit either base tomorrow.

As for plans, I've ordered the 18th Brit Div to Darwin and have some supply and fuel heading there from various DEI spots as ships evacuate the theater. Some troops, mostly engineers and support troops will also head to Darwin from the DEI and PI. I'll be marching one of the Aussie home guard divisions up to Darwin also, along with various smaller units and support units. Time to dig in here as I get ships organized and heading to Capetown to send a big supply TF to Darwin.

In the South Pacific, I've decided to defend in force as far forward as Suva and will send at least a division of GI's there. Pago will also be defended, with at least a Marine Rgt and Defense Bn. As I secure these bases, I'll make plans for the Americal Div to head to Noumea.

On Java, I'm planning to defend heavily at Soerabaja, leaving only token forces at Batavia and a few other spots. Most other Dutch forces will fight and die in place.

In the PI, I'm going to try to leverage the urban defensive terrain of Manila to make my stand. Perhaps Mike won't expect it and will spend lots of energy bombing a mostly empty Bataan base for a while.

In Burma, the only thing I consider to have value in the early game is the Burma Road. I can't win a fight here once Mike decides to visit in force, so I'll attempt to screen him from breaking the rail line around Pegu to gain a couple of extra days of 500 supply/day into China.

China itself will see most of the units able to change commands heading for the road to India. I'll buy them out as they get to the border over the next several weeks. I want to get them into the well supplied bases in India and then start filling them out. They don't take away much fighting power from China at the start by leaving, and they can build into a pretty strong fighting force later on for my counter attack, all the while not using the scarce supply in China. I'll do the same for almost all the Chinese Air Force. Their starting planes are almost useless, except as trainers. I'll let them sit and fly circles in India to train some Chinese pilots for later on when semi-useful planes start arriving. The one exception is the two DB-3M squadrons, with about a half dozen bombers between them. They withdraw in only a couple of weeks, so I won't spend PP's on them. They moved to Wenchow and will attempt to hit the small oil fields on Formosa at Taihoku. Nothing but a nuisance to Mike, but it will tweak his logistical focused nose a bit.

I'm planning to build up two big air training bases in India at Bombay and Delhi. Chinese squadrons will go to one and Commonwealth squadrons will train at the other. Engineers are on the move toward Calcutta, Dacca, and the frontier bases leading up to Ledo. I want Ledo ready to start flying supply to China once the Burma Road is cut.

I just got the Turn 2 replay back in my inbox, so I'm off to watch the movie.

_____________________________

Mike

"Good times will set you free" - Jimmy Buffett

"They need more rum punch" - Me

Artwork by The Amazing Dixie

(in reply to Bif1961)

Post #: 25

RE: THREAD War: Mike & Mike - Mike Solli (J) vs. USS Am... - 3/10/2019 11:57:44 PM

Bif1961

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From: Phenix City, Alabama
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He left your subs alone at Manila, so time to have a motto a sub mine is a terrible thing to waste, so get mining.

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Post #: 26

RE: THREAD War: Mike & Mike - Mike Solli (J) vs. USS Am... - 3/14/2019 9:03:08 PM

USSAmerica

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I'm back from a trip to New Orleans and a visit to the National WWII Museum there. Much fun was had by all and it's back to reality now, and the reality of the Allies getting kicked all over the map for the first several months.

On the Dec 8-9 turn (2 day turns now) it's safe to say the Japanese forces used a lot of ammunition. Multiple sweeps and air raids in the PI and at Singapore did quite a number on my meager fighter defenses in both places. Japanese troops came ashore in pretty large numbers at Mersing where I kept only 1 Aussie Bde defending. I don't have hope of defeating the invasion, but only to hold out long enough to allow some other LCU's in Malaya to slip past and into Singapore. Many of my "up country" LCU's packed up into Strategic Movement mode yesterday, so they may be able to rail into Singers in time. Maybe I can score a couple of torpedo or bomb hits on his shipping, too. The invasion of Northern Luzon is also going well for Mike. I managed to get a PT TF to attack one of his landing zones, but a SC TF with a couple of heavy cruisers made short work of 4/10 of them and the rest retired. I need some storms in the hex to hide my approach better. I've flown out fragments of a couple engineering units to rebuild at Darwin and all the B-17D air groups flew out to India to prepare to hit the oil fields in Burma (Magwe?) as soon as Mike captures them.

Over at Pearl, the poor WV continues to remain afloat, but she's getting worse. Fires are increasing and up to 48 now, and they are causing more system damage. No additional flooding damage.... yet. I imagine she will succumb to her wounds over the next 2 day turn. The KB didn't stick around, as expected with the increased exposure that 2 day turns adds. AF damage is getting cleaned up and some planes are being repaired. There are ships heading home to port here, and there are a bunch of spotted enemy subs around the area. Time to get a bunch of DD ASW TF's out and about.

Nothing major is going down in China yet, but I did forget to turn off industry repairs at Chungking and Changsa. Over 2 days, that cost me about 10k supply. They are off now.

The mass scattering of shipping from the Hong Kong and PI regions is always a crazy time. Any ships that get out and can be put to use in the war effort are generally to be considered a bonus. Well, my bonus will be pretty small in this game.

Mike did the best job I've ever seen of casting his net around the region and bagged around 20 merchants. The 3 British DD's that start at Hong Kong were able to get a one day head start at Full Speed since they were already formed into a TF on Turn 1. They actually crossed paths with a small returning amphib TF that had dropped troops on Jolo. With only a PB as escort, the 3 DD's beat up on 5 merchants pretty well before making their "escape" to Balikpapan. None of the Jap ships shows up on the sunk list yet, but I expect to see one or two there in a few days. Happily, I don't think I lost a single combat ship in the region while escaping. Most will be forming up into combat TF's in the DEI after this next turn. A couple of ships were also lost between Java and Malaya to Jap subs. Naval Search aircraft are going up in larger numbers this turn, and there are fewer un-escorted merchants still at sea in the area. Most merchant shipping in the DEI area is grabbing what fuel they can snatch up and bugging out to Oz or Colombo.

_____________________________

Mike

"Good times will set you free" - Jimmy Buffett

"They need more rum punch" - Me

Artwork by The Amazing Dixie

(in reply to Bif1961)

Post #: 27

RE: THREAD War: Mike & Mike - Mike Solli (J) vs. USS Am... - 3/16/2019 12:25:35 AM

Bif1961

Posts: 2014
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From: Phenix City, Alabama
Status: offline

I am sure you earned your Mardi gras beads, please no pictures.

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Post #: 28

RE: THREAD War: Mike & Mike - Mike Solli (J) vs. USS Am... - 3/16/2019 2:06:32 AM

USSAmerica

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From: Graham, NC, USA
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_____________________________

Mike

"Good times will set you free" - Jimmy Buffett

"They need more rum punch" - Me

Artwork by The Amazing Dixie

(in reply to Bif1961)

Post #: 29

RE: THREAD War: Mike & Mike - Mike Solli (J) vs. USS Am... - 3/17/2019 1:51:33 AM

Bif1961

Posts: 2014
Joined: 6/26/2008
From: Phenix City, Alabama
Status: offline

I heard it was rather nipple out the night... oh I meant nippy.

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Post #: 30

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