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RE: Japanese AAR, post game - 6/24/2020 10:00:36 AM

ernieschwitz

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Wuhan and the approach to Changsha.

The plan is to get the Wuhan Mines, and push towards Changsha from both Wuhan and the road through the mountains to Changsha. My opponent has decided to put several units with AT Guns II in that mountainous area. Unbeknowns that I have no tanks there.

Also note that he has a lot of HQs on the front. They should NEVER be in that position. HQs are best at being in the rear, where there staff directs the action. Troops in HQs don't get a HQ bonus either. So he is putting valuable staff at risk, and also if the HQ gets destroyed, then the troops under it will lose half their readiness, making them very easy to kill.

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RE: Japanese AAR, post game - 6/24/2020 10:04:50 AM

ernieschwitz

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Wuhan mines fall, this turn. Note also the HQs have been hit by air. I couldn't get to all of them in combat, but at least I could reduce some of them.

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RE: Japanese AAR, post game - 6/24/2020 10:07:33 AM

ernieschwitz

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I am keeping on the pressure near Changsha now. The two HQs near Wuhan have basically nowhere to get supplies from, and I am preparing on marching through the mountains too.

Notice how the HQ in the mountains (the 37 strength point one), is now next to my infantry unit, and it will possibly be at risk of being attacked next turn. My opponent should really move it asap.

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RE: Japanese AAR, post game - 6/24/2020 7:50:43 PM

ernieschwitz

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Turn 12:

The Northern Front (Hohhot, desert, Yenan). My troops here are getting a bit thin. I've really been driving them hard. Forunately the Chinese have been taking equally devastating losses. I have been using everything I could to shore up the front in this view.

The "Blue Army" had a starting position near Peking, while the "Light Blue Army" was there to begin with, but consisted mostly of cavalry. This means that there essentially is only something like 1� army there.

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RE: Japanese AAR, post game - 6/24/2020 7:53:48 PM

ernieschwitz

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Sian Front (Middle of China).

I am closing in on Sian. Instead of attacking the position at the Sian Mines, I am trying to flank it, to get a better attack in next turn. A little bombardment never hurt though. Also, the losses from last turn forced me to withdraw my "light tank division" to the "Light Green" HQ, where I will reinforce it.

My "light tank divisions" for much of the game consisted of 2 Osaka Armored Cars, 6 Ha-Go light tanks, and 6 tankettes, while my "tank divisions" consisted of 2 Osaka Armored Cars, 4 Chi-Ha medium tanks, 4 Ha-Go light tanks, as well as 4 tankettes. They proved to be adequate.

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RE: Japanese AAR, post game - 6/24/2020 7:59:59 PM

ernieschwitz

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Wuhan/Changsha:

Trying as hard as I can, I push towards Changsha from Wuhan. The HQ I meantioned from before, the "light blue" chinese army, hasn't moved. This pleases me, but I cannot attack it just yet. Better to surround it and then take it out. I am almost there, and next turn I hope to gobble it up.

Near the coast, I've had to abandon Foochow. It is a small port. It really is of no consequence at this point in the game, so I withdraw.

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RE: Japanese AAR, post game - 6/24/2020 8:01:45 PM

ernieschwitz

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The losses for this turn:

Still a pretty good ratio of Infantry kills to Infantry losses. About 1:3. He is still resisting. I am losing light tanks, and tankettes, as you can probably see regulary. Nothing is without cost.

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RE: Japanese AAR, post game - 6/24/2020 8:06:35 PM

ernieschwitz

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Turn 13:

When I loaded the turn, this time, I was met by this sight:

It seemed as if my opponent was desperate, tried some attacks, and got beaten badly.

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RE: Japanese AAR, post game - 6/24/2020 8:08:16 PM

ernieschwitz

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Sure enough, when looking at the Wuhan/Changsha area, it looked like this.

The "Light Blue" Chinese HQ, is still in a precarious position, even has an empty counter there with it. That is 1 PP, being used for nothing. He also has several small units, which would be better off being combined into 1 unit, and thus saving him some more PPs. Finally he has staff in a unit, instead of in an HQ, where it would be doing best. Later he told me he was doing some experimenting, trying to find out if high XP staff could do something... Spoiler: They can't.

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RE: Japanese AAR, post game - 6/24/2020 8:12:00 PM

ernieschwitz

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Well, with the front being as is, I pressed on the attack.

First I surrounded the "light blue" Chinese HQ, by taking the hexes around it, and then attacked it, itself, causing everyone in it to be killed, flee, or surrender... the fleeing ones surrendered once they couldn't flee anywhere. A HQ is 5 PPs... wasted in this case. Always try and destroy counters/HQs if you can. You are depriving your enemy of Political Points.

I pressed on the attack from the east too, through the mountains, and got Changsha too. You will notice that I am still taking some chances. Not every hex on the front is equally well protected. My brave paratroopers, for instance, have taken up defending one hex, all alone.

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RE: Japanese AAR, post game - 6/24/2020 8:17:28 PM

ernieschwitz

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Turning to the Sian Area.

Here I completed the attack on the Sian Mines. I took them, and things seem to be looking up. Chinese resistance is really getting weak.

Notice how the HQs are no more than 3 hexes from the troops they command. It is a hard thing to master, but if you can, you really can rack up the bonuses for combat. At one point during the game I had units with 250% bonus to attack and defense.

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RE: Japanese AAR, post game - 6/24/2020 10:23:46 PM

ernieschwitz

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Turn 14:

I don't exactly recall what I invested in of New Technology, but either way, the Chinese were not getting any new technology, so things remained mostly as they were. Here is a look at the status of the Desert and Yenan, at the opening of the turn.

As can be seen, it's winter. Readiness does suffer, since I did not choose to upgrade my winter training to the maxium level. 200 PPs is a lot, when using a smaller nation like Japan. My forces have been replenished with fresh troops, so I am ready again for an offensive.

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RE: Japanese AAR, post game - 6/24/2020 10:26:26 PM

ernieschwitz

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... and here is what I managed to do.

I surrounded some forces in the mountains. I hope I can take them out next turn. Being surrounded is a terrible psychological thing. If you don't get out of these "kettles" you will most likely lose the troops. I was thinking that he, while having strong troops inside the pocket, didn't have much outside it. So I am comfortable having a single infantry division, the 27th, handling the duty of keeping the lid on. Note how he is still using staff as "cannon fodder".

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RE: Japanese AAR, post game - 6/24/2020 10:32:48 PM

ernieschwitz

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Some of the more observant of you might have noticed that there was a marine unit in the mountains, guarding the road towards Foochow. It was a unit of American Marine Is that the USA had gifted to the Chinese. My opponent is playing both the Chinese and the USA. They didn't last too long, but they certainly had my respect. So much so that I was afraid to attack it outright. So it came down to a concentrated effort.

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RE: Japanese AAR, post game - 6/24/2020 10:35:27 PM

ernieschwitz

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In the center, near Sian, I have begun planning on how to take out that city. Also I have to build a bridge to the other side of the river there. Some of my units are beginning to show that they are less than 100% supplied. My Engineers are there, but there are too few of them. Lack of engineers was one of my weaknesses in this game.

I recall faintly that I tried a two sided attack on Sian, and it failed, as can be seen on the map.

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RE: Japanese AAR, post game - 6/24/2020 10:37:42 PM

ernieschwitz

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The losses for this turn, and the kills.

Kill to loss ratio is not as good this turn, as I want, and the assault on Sian, I think, cost quite a few of those tank losses.

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RE: Japanese AAR, post game - 6/24/2020 10:46:40 PM

ernieschwitz

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Turn 15:

Again we begin looking at the front that is gradually closing in on Yenan. Not shown here is that the surrounded troops from before actually broke out, and the 27th Infantry Division got out of supply. The situation was rectified quickly, but still it was a reminder that my opponent might have taken a lot of good punches, but was still in it. I let myself be overconfident. On the other hand, I am now right next to Yenan.

I am also beginning to flesh out the "light blue" cavalry army with infantry, so that it might hold better against the forces on the other side of the river. If this offensive is to succeed I need that road. Running supplies through the desert is not something that is easy, in this mod/game.

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RE: Japanese AAR, post game - 6/24/2020 10:50:03 PM

ernieschwitz

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In the center, I am ready to take Sian, and my opponent seems to know this. It is a nice big city, with 3 industrial annexes in it, which my opponent has chosen to build. So it has quite a decent production.

I also, finally built the bridge across the river, so my troops could be supplied, without some trickery. I was moving my HQ on each side of the river every other turn, if I recall correctly. It would fill up with some unused supplies on one side, and then I would move it to the other side, so that it would come through.

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RE: Japanese AAR, post game - 6/24/2020 10:53:03 PM

ernieschwitz

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I managed to get a picture of the battle for Sian:

As can be seen, I won the battle. First row is the status of the formations (the Chinese one is panicked), 2nd row is the surviving troops that held their ground and stayed (there are none of those), third row is the troops that died or surrendered. Quite a few as can be seen, and the last row shows the troops that retreated.

The pattern repeats below for the Japanese forces.

The yellow icons mean that the troops have penetrated the battle lines of the defender, and can hit rear area units, such as artillery. Quite a decisive battle on my part.

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RE: Japanese AAR, post game - 6/24/2020 11:03:47 PM

ernieschwitz

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Turn 17: (I am skipping a turn, because of a mixup in the files)

While all the above has been happening, things have been going steadily forward in the south of China too. My troops have reached the outskirts of Canton, and it is being bombarded from the air and by artillery.

If I let up my attacks, on my now reeling opponent he might be able to stabilize the front. Not something that I need. Already this has been a very fast paced war, and that has been to my advantage. The losses have been bigger than some would like, but, you can't make an omelette without breaking a few eggs.

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RE: Japanese AAR, post game - 6/24/2020 11:08:03 PM

ernieschwitz

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I am also nearing Kweiyang. My forces have spread out fast once Changsha fell.

One of the secrets of making an offensive this fast is to always have plenty of reserves, and a way to get them to the front fast. I have been using the TO&E for this, but not like one would traditionally.

In the traditional model you would have troops flow from the top HQ (in Tokyo) to the HQs in Shanghai and Peking, and from there spreading out to the Army HQs, and then finally to the troops. Each of these transfers being a step and thus a turn. This is in my opinion too slow.

Instead I chose to send my production straight to the Peking and Shanghai HQs. The HQs there would then send to the armies, and I would send the forces that were sent there straight to the units, with a direct transfer. Thus it takes much shorter time to get there, than it traditionally would.

Sometimes I would even forgo sending them to the HQs in Peking and Shanghai and instead send them directly to the HQs in the field. I did that especially when making new Infantry, Armor or Artillery divisions.

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RE: Japanese AAR, post game - 6/24/2020 11:14:38 PM

ernieschwitz

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I am also nearing the heart of the Chinese production and last resource hex (the Mines at Chungking). It looks like there is very little resistance down the road to it.

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RE: Japanese AAR, post game - 6/24/2020 11:15:37 PM

ernieschwitz

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Yenan has fallen too, and I am nearing Lanchow.

Lanchow is strategically important. The Soviet player can send (limited amounts of) troops and material to that city. If it falls, or the road to it is cut off, those are sent to Urumqi instead... which is way out to the west.

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RE: Japanese AAR, post game - 6/24/2020 11:23:28 PM

ernieschwitz

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Turn 18: (The Japanese Pearl Harbor, as my German ally called it).

I opened up my turn to this:

Clearly something disasterous had happened. I had lost between 1/3 to 1/2 the production that I was making. I was unsure what. The Americans were still far off. Their isolationism counter was still going down, but slowly. So who was it.. And how did this massacre occur.

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RE: Japanese AAR, post game - 6/24/2020 11:28:55 PM

ernieschwitz

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It turns out that my deal with Comrad Stalin had expired... and he didn't even bother to tell me. What had happened was that the Germans had been attacked by the USSR, and since I was in alliance with the Germans, the Soviet Union was also at war with me!

The Soviet surface fleet and submarines had sortied out, and had put themselves in the perfect place, to cause maximum disruption of my supply and production lines.

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RE: Japanese AAR, post game - 6/24/2020 11:31:39 PM

ernieschwitz

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The Soviets were also closing in on my position in Manchuria. I needed to act fast. Not having the biggest of forces up that way, I needed to delay his attack any way I could.

I sent my Manchuko militia forces to try and stave off the Soviets. I positioned them as best I could, and hoped I could get forces there fast enough to not lose this new war that had begun.

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RE: Japanese AAR, post game - 6/24/2020 11:36:13 PM

ernieschwitz

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Not knowing where he would strike, I tried building up an Army near Korea, so I could stop troops coming down that way. I transferred the troops as far as I could. I and those that couldn't be transferred marched from the HQ in Peking to get there (see the 52nd Infantry division).

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RE: Japanese AAR, post game - 6/24/2020 11:39:04 PM

ernieschwitz

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The fleet that the Soviets had put inbetween Japan and the Chinese mainland was easily dealt with. I surrounded it, and killed it off that way. I also used Naval Bombers, and Torpedo Bombers for this purpose, before attacking with ships.

Then came the hard part. Preventing something like this happening again, in the near future.

What you are seeing above is the supply layer, that you can use in ATG. Here I have experimented a bit, and tried to get the supply and production, to flow through one channel only. I did this using supply blocks. These work by blocking production and supplies from exiting a hex that has been put this kind of block on. The arrows show how the supply is now going from Tokyo to mainland China... From Hiroshima to Pusan.

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RE: Japanese AAR, post game - 6/24/2020 11:46:30 PM

ernieschwitz

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Meanwhile in China.

The time had come to cross the river in the desert, near Hohhot and Yenan. My troops burst forward and the results of battle were clear. The Chinese troops had been out of supply for a while now it seemed. At the same time, the "purple army" shown here began to withdraw from the area and head for Manchuria. I could only hope it would get there in time.

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RE: Japanese AAR, post game - 6/24/2020 11:51:12 PM

ernieschwitz

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Lanchow has fallen, and the troops defending the area have a rough time. A few T-26s have been sent by USSR to help out, but it was too little too late.