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October 25th, 1942 - 2/17/2019 2:45:14 AM   
Anachro


Posts: 2506
Joined: 11/23/2015
From: The Coastal Elite
Status: offline 		October 25th, 1942

The noose closes around Calcutta. Or not. Things hang very much in the balance as my southern mod army of 1500 AV inexplicable divided into one 600 and one 900 AV stack and are far from friendly lines. They are moving up towards Rajshashi. I have mauled some Japanese divisions over the last few days, but 2 Indian divisions suffered some losses at Howrah last week. John has 8 divisions in the area + 2 tank divisions. This does not include the 3 divisions of his I have already done damage to recently.



John has landed in Australia with KB there. This seems like a pointless episode that ties IJA divisions down here. He might take Portland Roads with the division that just landed there, but I have 110 AV there with 3, almost 4 forts. Another division is at Coen, but it has taken a lot of damage in the long march from Normanton and I have 200 AV there. 600 additional AV is marching up.



< Message edited by Anachro -- 2/20/2019 9:02:27 PM >

(in reply to Anachro)
Post #: 841
October 27th, 1942 - 2/20/2019 6:56:56 PM   
Anachro


Posts: 2506
Joined: 11/23/2015
From: The Coastal Elite
Status: offline 		October 27th, 1942

John's comment to me in his latest email:

quote:

How I ever agreed to no HR with 4EB constantly amazes me. Think I was drinking some pretty serious coolaid…


Perhaps he is feeling the heat or a bit demoralized in India. From my perspective, things very much still hang in the balance and are more precarious than he might think. I take Cuttack this turn and my forces have caught up with 3 divisions across the river west of Rajshashi. Two of these divisions have been mauled from previous fighting and one is fresh. It seems his tank divisions have fleed further east. Depending on how close his troops are to crossing the river, there is a good chance I can destroy or severely maul these three divisions even further. Doing so means his rear will be very weak and currently most of his forces are concentrated around Calcutta. Could this be the tide turning?



In Australia, John's invasion force is facing problems. His division at Portland Roads attacked but failed to lower forts and now his AV sits at 170 versus 100 of my own forces. He will need to use continuous bombardment by his battleships. This will require a lot of fuel expenditure on his part. His carries have already done sorties for the past 4 days... It feels to me like John is trying to do actions because he always wants to be on the offensive and as a result he is overstretching his forces, getting bitten, and opening up his defenses elsewhere for attack. I don't plan to be passive and defensive for much longer...



< Message edited by Anachro -- 2/21/2019 12:35:52 AM >

(in reply to Anachro)
Post #: 842
RE: October 27th, 1942 - 2/20/2019 7:20:49 PM   
Canoerebel


Posts: 21100
Joined: 12/14/2002
From: Northwestern Georgia, USA
Status: offline 		He isn't posting, which probably reflects his morale. When something good happens, or when he has a big op getting underway that he's jazzed about, he'll be back. :)

(in reply to Anachro)
Post #: 843
RE: October 27th, 1942 - 2/20/2019 7:38:39 PM   
jwolf

 

Posts: 2493
Joined: 12/3/2013
Status: offline 		You've done a great job in India with defense and then regrouping and counterattack.

I saw a quote somewhere from, I believe, a British air officer to the effect that the Germans went into the war with the silly idea that they could bomb everyone else and no one would bomb them. I wonder if some Japanese players suffer from a bit of the same mindset.

(in reply to Canoerebel)
Post #: 844
RE: October 27th, 1942 - 2/20/2019 9:21:01 PM   
Anachro


Posts: 2506
Joined: 11/23/2015
From: The Coastal Elite
Status: offline 		@Canoerebel You are right. I also think your past comments on John's tendencies have been largely accurate, both in game and how he reacts to events through his comments in email.

@Jwolf Yeah, John's comments are a bit perplexing to me as the air war has been very even. From my perspective, I operate on a razor-thin margin in India, even with the air assets I've brought in. I think John would prefer to have rules in place that make it easier for him, but that'd be unfair to the Allied player as with even attrition losses this early on, John seems to have limitless amount of replacements for his fighters whereas my British fighters/bombers have little to none and even my American plane replacements fall short of what's needed to sustain operations. As things are now, I think the lack of rules has had no impact on the balance of the game and made the game a better one than it would be otherwise.

From my experience in this game, fighters on CAP do a good job countering the effectiveness of 4E bombing runs, even if they don't shoot many down, which makes sense to me. Rule-lawyering the effectiveness of Allied 4Es simply means Japanese players can devote the majority of their fighters to sweeps and offense in an imbalanced way.\

In other news, I've been pretty successful in ASW efforts this month. Overall, intelligence estimates 11 submarines and 13 midget submarines sunk in the war so far, which could be very inaccurate or not. 5 submarines were sunk in October.


(in reply to jwolf)
Post #: 845
RE: October 27th, 1942 - 2/21/2019 1:04:50 PM   
jwolf

 

Posts: 2493
Joined: 12/3/2013
Status: offline
quote:

5 [enemy] submarines were sunk in October.


That is great news! I love to sink those bastards!

Especially if you can make enemy sub ops near Sydney too expensive, that would be very helpful.

(in reply to Anachro)
Post #: 846
October 28th, 1942 - 2/21/2019 2:35:34 PM   
Anachro


Posts: 2506
Joined: 11/23/2015
From: The Coastal Elite
Status: offline 		October 28th, 1942

The following day brings more good news though not as complete as we would like (some might say I am crazy not to be completely satisfied with the day's action). In India, John sees his 21st Division almost completed destroyed, though perhaps a few AV is able to retreat. Moreover, the IJA 48th ID and 2nd Tank Regiment cross the river and run into the 18th British ID and 46th Indian Division, suffering immense losses in crossing the river and now seem to be in further retreat back towards Calcutta. The 2nd division seems to have successfully retreated to Rajshashi.

Rajshashi seems cutoff with about 25,000 men and most likely 2 tank divisions. Calcutta has 45,000 men, Howrah has 50,000 men and there seems to be 1-2 divisions at Jessore. Make no doubt about it, John still has an immense army at his dispsal and things hang in the balance. For the day however, we are satisfied.



In Australia, John seems to have had a change of heart regarding his division at Portland Roads. The morrow finds the hex no longer occupied: John seems to have, for now, extracted his troops and called off the invasion. Yesterday's action no doubt changed his mind. He still has one division in a precarious situation at Coen, however...


(in reply to jwolf)
Post #: 847
RE: October 28th, 1942 - 2/21/2019 3:05:47 PM   
jwolf

 

Posts: 2493
Joined: 12/3/2013
Status: offline
quote:

some might say I am crazy not to be completely satisfied with the day's action


You may count me among them.

How can John possibly rescue the division at Coen? It looks to me that any op intended to pull them out would just throw good money after bad. Maybe some can be airlifted out?

(in reply to Anachro)
Post #: 848
RE: October 28th, 1942 - 2/21/2019 3:23:12 PM   
Bif1961


Posts: 2014
Joined: 6/26/2008
From: Phenix City, Alabama
Status: offline 		I think that maybe he was counting on the Liz and later Rita to balance the 4E allied advantage so no need to employ an HR.

(in reply to jwolf)
Post #: 849
October 29th, 1942 - 2/22/2019 6:52:53 PM   
Anachro


Posts: 2506
Joined: 11/23/2015
From: The Coastal Elite
Status: offline 		October 29th, 1942

John's quote for the day:

quote:

Love how we’re trying to predict where each will punch and then try to counter it. Like a roulette wheel. Where will the ball fall?


It seems his 2 tank divisions might be moving down to intercept my forces south of Rajshashi (900 AV with lots of artillery). He has about 1000 tanks in Rajshashi at the moment. Depending on what he does, I might just move my 1800 AV right across the river to Rajshashi directly. I would like to take this place because 1) it cuts the rail line to Calcutta and 2) it gives me an airbase from which to operate more deeply in enemy territory. In other news, John seems to be bringing ships to Calcutta where he has 160 fighters posted. Will he be attempting an evacuation? That's what I might be thinking. He is probably calculating that he can't hold Calcutta or that it's not worth it. Bigger priority is reinforcing and protecting Burma.

My bombers attack Rajshashi today, doing decent damage to the airfield and destroying 40-50 enemy Betty's and Nell's on the ground there. The airfield is not shutdown, however. I might need to re-focus on Calcutta and see if I can prevent an evacuation if need be.






(in reply to Bif1961)
Post #: 850
RE: October 29th, 1942 - 2/24/2019 6:42:57 PM   
Anachro


Posts: 2506
Joined: 11/23/2015
From: The Coastal Elite
Status: offline 		Got this message from John yesterday and still awaiting turn today so hopefully everything is alright with him:

quote:

FYI...Our Internet at the house is dead. Got someone from Comcast on the way to fix it. Just wanted to let you know.


I set a large naval strike at Calcutta to see if he is loading the ships there. Hopefully, my escort is enough, Simultaneously, I am sweeping and bombing Calcutta's airfields.

(in reply to Anachro)
Post #: 851
October 30-31st, 1942 - 2/26/2019 7:04:10 PM   
Anachro


Posts: 2506
Joined: 11/23/2015
From: The Coastal Elite
Status: offline 		October 30-31st, 1942

It seems to be that John had decided he doesn't like his position in India and is attempting to extricate his forces, perhaps to reinforce the south: Chittagong, Burma, etc. A number of convoys converged on Calcutta over the last few days and suspecting he would be loading his divisions caught there, I launched some naval strikes. One of his convoys left sooner than anticipated, which is a shame, but the others got hit decently. It remains to be seen how many he gets out. Bringing a mini-KB over would probably help him, but that carries risks of its own. At Rajshashi, it seems that John might be moving his forces out. We'll see. I am doing a risk river crossing directly with my forces onto the hex.



I also sweep Calcutta and my fighters do okay. Yesterday, John had 170 fighters in Calcutta. Today, reports show 100 fighters there.



British carriers appear neare Coen trying to hit some enemy transports, but John moved north whereas last turn they were moving east. He spotted some surface vessels last turn and probably responded to that; my carriers were undetected until today. They will retire. I think it's going to be cat and mouse games for awhile here in the South Pacific. The large majority of John's carriers are in this area.



< Message edited by Anachro -- 2/26/2019 7:07:44 PM >

(in reply to Anachro)
Post #: 852
RE: October 30-31st, 1942 - 2/26/2019 7:25:12 PM   
jwolf

 

Posts: 2493
Joined: 12/3/2013
Status: offline 		You have conducted a masterful operation in India. Do you expect to recover Ceylon anytime soon?

(in reply to Anachro)
Post #: 853
RE: October 30-31st, 1942 - 2/26/2019 7:31:29 PM   
Anachro


Posts: 2506
Joined: 11/23/2015
From: The Coastal Elite
Status: offline 		Soon is relative, but I do expect to recover it. In all things, the tempo of my ops are limited by where my carriers can be; and I am loath to divide my carriers too much. Given how much John is focusing his naval power outside of the Indian Ocean, I might be able to successfully do an amphibious op with LBA and some CVL's for cover. Anyway, I have the forces already prepped/prepping and massing at Capetown and on the mainland.

There is also a mistake in the images above. There are two or more tank divisions at Rajshashi, I believe.

< Message edited by Anachro -- 2/26/2019 7:32:56 PM >

(in reply to jwolf)
Post #: 854
November 1st, 1942 - 2/27/2019 6:05:29 PM   
Anachro


Posts: 2506
Joined: 11/23/2015
From: The Coastal Elite
Status: offline 		November 1st, 1942

New avatar (finally giving into my inner Allied fan boy - am enjoying my Japan PBEM though haven't posted on it recently)!

Not much happened last turn, though we reach a new month. I completely forgot that a number of upgrades happen. Some destroyers, my Omaha-class CLAAs, and battleships go in for refit that I'd like to have back for potential **cough** amphibious operations this or next month. Looking on the bright side, these are good upgrades that see nice increases to ship AA and the CLAA and BB upgrades aren't too long, but my destroyers are now stuck in port for 20 days. Argh! The upgrades are shown below:

The Sims-class DD gets a nice boost to AA and ASW, but they are now out of commission for 20 days!


My remaining Omahas which I converted to CLAAs all get a nice boost to their AA, going up to a rating of 938. I like these ships. They are my little tykes!


My North Carolina-class BBs go into refit at Pearl, which annoys me as their speed would have been great for some coming operations. Luckily, the are only out for two weeks.


My carriers are done or almost done with their upgrades (Ranger, Yorktown, and Hornet are ready to go - the rest are 4 days away), as are are my Brooklyn-class CLs, and all my various USN CA classes. BB South Dakota is 9 days from her refits being done.




< Message edited by Anachro -- 2/27/2019 6:13:42 PM >

(in reply to Anachro)
Post #: 855
November 1st, 1942, Cont. - 2/27/2019 6:12:40 PM   
Anachro


Posts: 2506
Joined: 11/23/2015
From: The Coastal Elite
Status: offline 		In India, my fighters do roughly even results with their Japanese counterparts and the number of enemy fighters at Calcutta is down to 60. Actually, my fighters come off slightly better and its only the fact that I lose some divebombers during the day despite heavy escort that the results are roughly even (~65 enemy planes lost vs ~50 for me). My fighters will rest for a day or two before continuing operations. My British fighter pools are very low.

The real issue at hand is what will happen tomorrow. John has around 27k men and 1200 AFVs at Rajshashi that might or might not be fleeing. 1500 AV is threatening to cut them off as they flee east. Another 1800 AV with 2600 AFVs crosses the river directly tomorrow in combat mode altogether (backed up by 1100 AV in reserve). This is risky as the shock attack might produce bad results, but we'll see. If things don't go badly, I can perhaps cut-off, destroy, or seriously degrade John's tank divisions. He has 14 units at Rajshashi and the airfield is in a bad state letting my bombers bomb and attack his units. The nice thing is that Rajshashi is a clear hex. We'll see what tomorrow brings.



For my SoPac operations, fuel is finally flowing into Auckland through Tahiti and will soon form a chain to Sydney once enough of a fuel base is built there. Australia also gets fuel through Capetown->Perth.

< Message edited by Anachro -- 2/27/2019 6:15:38 PM >

(in reply to Anachro)
Post #: 856
RE: November 1st, 1942 - 2/27/2019 6:27:44 PM   
jwolf

 

Posts: 2493
Joined: 12/3/2013
Status: offline 		In my very limited experience, balancing ship upgrades against operational tempo is one of the most difficult challenges in the game. Even the shorter upgrades can work out to a much longer time if you count transit time to and from a major shipyard. The upgrades that merely require a fairly large port aren't so difficult logistically in comparison. Finally, with John's mod I assume you have more ships than stock, and hence more upgrades to keep track of. You really need 3 or 4 staff officers to take care of that for you.

(in reply to Anachro)
Post #: 857
November 2nd, 1942 - 2/27/2019 9:39:14 PM   
Anachro


Posts: 2506
Joined: 11/23/2015
From: The Coastal Elite
Status: offline 		November 2nd, 1942

The crossing is a relative good one and I think we are now in prime position to quickly take the rest of Japanese India's interior. Calcutta is a stronghold, but his northern line is facing collapse through which I can quickly move to pounce on Dacca, Kohima, Imphal, Chittagong. Let us see what happens. John's forces at Rajshashi not only face vastly superior numbers at Rajshashi, their current route of retreat is blocked by 1500 AV. John's forces at Rajshashi include the 1st Tank Division, 2nd Tank Division, the 4th Tank Regiment, and battered 21st Division. Furthermore, there are a smattering of artillery units, AA units, and support/command units. These units are all facing imminent destruction.

Are we perhaps witnessing the breaking back of Japanese might in India?

I know I'm going to eat my words in a few weeks, I just know. But for now, I'm a bit hopeful. Further suggesting John is in a bit of a chaotic retreat and reinforcement, the 56th ID that was previously at Calcutta lands a bit chaotically at Ramree Island to begin reinforcing Burma.



< Message edited by Anachro -- 2/27/2019 9:53:57 PM >

(in reply to jwolf)
Post #: 858
RE: November 2nd, 1942 - 2/27/2019 10:27:32 PM   
Anachro


Posts: 2506
Joined: 11/23/2015
From: The Coastal Elite
Status: offline 		John's division has left Coen and my scouts failed to notice that. Nice for him; I'll bomb it on the way back but he has about 200 fighters at Normanton.


(in reply to Anachro)
Post #: 859
RE: November 2nd, 1942 - 2/28/2019 3:00:28 PM   
Bif1961


Posts: 2014
Joined: 6/26/2008
From: Phenix City, Alabama
Status: offline 		It looks like the Japanese cannot stomach the strong Indian curry.

(in reply to Anachro)
Post #: 860
RE: November 2nd, 1942 - 3/2/2019 1:28:04 AM   
Anachro


Posts: 2506
Joined: 11/23/2015
From: The Coastal Elite
Status: offline 		We eagerly await the coming turn.


(in reply to Bif1961)
Post #: 861
November 3rd, 1942 - The Tide Turns in India - 3/2/2019 5:10:35 PM   
Anachro


Posts: 2506
Joined: 11/23/2015
From: The Coastal Elite
Status: offline 		November 3rd, 1942

An interesting result. Again, we are not satisfied, but a very good day nonetheless. 8,000 Japanese soldiers are captured and or killed with 1000 Japanese tanks knocked out of the war. The rest of his forces split, with some heading south (2 units) and some heading north (11 units). We have a good chance to capture both, but we must beware of John's significant forces still around Calcutta. We have noticed some forces moving east from that city. We'll see what his plans are. For now, the pathway to Rangpur and further east is open, but it is an open question if I should push here or move south to constrict and trap Calcutta. I'd like to at the least pursue and finish off his forces that were at Rajshashi.

What do you think?


(in reply to Anachro)
Post #: 862
RE: November 3rd, 1942 - The Tide Turns in India - 3/2/2019 5:52:12 PM   
Uncivil Engineer

 

Posts: 1014
Joined: 2/22/2012
From: Florida, USA
Status: offline 		My 2 cents - keep the pressure on Calcutta - it's worth something (a lot of something!)

His 453 AV that got decimated is now likely only 200 and split - pursue each part with 200 +/- AV and keep them retreating into open terrain, so you can pound them from the air. Your troops look to be tired, so rest some of them for the next push.

(in reply to Anachro)
Post #: 863
RE: November 3rd, 1942 - The Tide Turns in India - 3/2/2019 8:31:26 PM   
Anachro


Posts: 2506
Joined: 11/23/2015
From: The Coastal Elite
Status: offline 		I'll probably do something like that. Most of the forces at Rajshashi will rest due to fatigue and disruption. Tanks will chase the unit in the north that has ~700 AFVs I want to destroy. My 1500 AV to the east of Rajhshashi will push south to hit the other force before moving to help begin constricting Calcutta. Small amounts of troops will continue the push to Rangpur and eastward. I think Calcutta looks tougher than it actually is and a concerted push should make it fall.

Here's something interesting. In the South Pacific, John's two SNLF assault divisions appear to be planning for Christmas Island and Efate. I wonder if he will actually do this or perhaps this was a plan from the past that he now might be re-thinking. John is very aggressive; so I can't doubt that he might actually try these invasions.



Apparently these sank (though not fully confirmed) in the strike I did awhile back on surface vessels at Lunga. Others sank as well, but these are what I know probably sank.



< Message edited by Anachro -- 3/2/2019 8:34:23 PM >

(in reply to Uncivil Engineer)
Post #: 864
RE: November 3rd, 1942 - The Tide Turns in India - 3/2/2019 8:38:01 PM   
Anachro


Posts: 2506
Joined: 11/23/2015
From: The Coastal Elite
Status: offline 		Estimated enemy combat vessel losses to date. Not as good as I'd like, but we'll take. I really want to cause some attritional damage to his carriers as I think it's pivotal to do so early on before he can put the Georges and Jacks on them. I'm hearing worrying things about these planes' potential from others farther along in John's mods.


(in reply to Anachro)
Post #: 865
RE: November 3rd, 1942 - The Tide Turns in India - 3/2/2019 8:40:18 PM   
Anachro


Posts: 2506
Joined: 11/23/2015
From: The Coastal Elite
Status: offline 		Allied combat vessel losses. The main thing is we haven't lost any carriers.


(in reply to Anachro)
Post #: 866
RE: November 3rd, 1942 - The Tide Turns in India - 3/2/2019 8:42:03 PM   
Anachro


Posts: 2506
Joined: 11/23/2015
From: The Coastal Elite
Status: offline 		Intelligence Summary and VP Score. Maybe I'll avoid auto-victory. It's been at 2-1 for awhile.



< Message edited by Anachro -- 3/2/2019 8:50:08 PM >

(in reply to Anachro)
Post #: 867
RE: November 3rd, 1942 - The Tide Turns in India - 3/2/2019 8:45:04 PM   
Canoerebel


Posts: 21100
Joined: 12/14/2002
From: Northwestern Georgia, USA
Status: offline 		You mean 2:1, right?

John hasn't been building a case for AV; of late, he's been doing the opposite (with your effective assistance, of course).

One of these days, you'll be able to gang up on one of his carrier divisions, 'cause he'll send it out there with inadequate information about where your guys are or aren't.

(in reply to Anachro)
Post #: 868
RE: November 3rd, 1942 - The Tide Turns in India - 3/2/2019 8:49:17 PM   
Anachro


Posts: 2506
Joined: 11/23/2015
From: The Coastal Elite
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

You mean 2:1, right?


Yes!

(in reply to Canoerebel)
Post #: 869
RE: November 3rd, 1942 - The Tide Turns in India - 3/2/2019 9:44:15 PM   
JohnDillworth


Posts: 3100
Joined: 3/19/2009
Status: offline
quote:

Estimated enemy combat vessel losses to date. Not as good as I'd like

That's pretty good for the early war. Especially those CA's and DD's. John loves those and is quite good at maximizing their value. Not sure of this mode but CA's are hard to come by so these hurt

_____________________________

Today I come bearing an olive branch in one hand, and the freedom fighter's gun in the other. Do not let the olive branch fall from my hand. I repeat, do not let the olive branch fall from my hand. - Yasser Arafat Speech to UN General Assembly

(in reply to Anachro)
Post #: 870
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