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el cid again -> RE: comments & Guam (6/18/2006 11:58:27 AM)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Jo van der Pluym
quote:
ORIGINAL: el cid again
ESO (not released) seems like a lot of fun - a lot more balanced than any previous WITP variant.
What means ESO?
Empire Of the Sun - which I guess should be EOS!
It is the name of a board game version of WITP - and it is meant to imply this is the Japan Enhansed Scenario Joe once theorized might be done. There are three separate objectives in doing EOS:
1) It is for those seeking play balance. You cannot be true to history and not have a game unablanced against Japan to a major degree. This is slightly less so - and provides Japan a better than historical chance of setting up an autarky (functional regional economy) to serve as a foundation of defending the Empire from the inevitable counteroffensives.
This is done by assuming DIFFERENT planning, outlined below.
2) It is for those seeking to play the Allies vs AI - so the AI has a better chance of standing up against a human opponent.
3) It is for JFBs - giving them "toys" they otherwise must dream about.
The basis for this - I believe whatever is done must be done in the light of 1941 concepts and politics - is as follows:
1) The IJN told the IJA it would have a very hard time defeating the enemy, so the IJA decided to form an integrated strategy and policy, instead of business as usual;
2) In the context of (1) above, a joint planning committee was established modeled on that used by Gen Yamashita (led by Col Tsuji) for the campaign in Malaya. Pre-existing plans of existing institutions was used rather than ignored, including:
a) Foreign Ministry (and a secular association) planning re forming a genuine "co prosperity sphere" - this planning having no less than Gen Tojo as a fan - but in the end it was ignored; This planning is implimented by the mechanism of apponiting FM officials rather than IJA officers to handle relations within the sphere;
b) Naval planning re building escorts, creating the Grand Escort Command even before the outset of hostilities, building merchant ships, and allocating reasonable resources to these efforts;
c) Implementing plans of the Nakano School (an IJA institution related to intelligence, special operations, grand strategy and spin), specifically including proposals by the students of English speaking nations;
d) Implementing mobilization planning of the Munitions Ministry.
This planning committee changes the command structure to that eventually adopted by Japan, but soon enough to matter. It changes the resources allocated to the commands, and to various institutions, in time to matter. It implements changes to production, soon enough to matter. This committee is formed in July, 1941 (because that is the date of the decision to mobilize) and its major findings are implemented in October, 1941. The committee integrates Army, Navy and civilian planning, and it strikes a deal between Tojo and Yamashita (and the triumverate of generals who actually ran Japan) - Tojo will be the head of state; Yamashita will be the Japanese Zhukov; and a very Japanese system combining Imperial General HQ, the triumverate and the strategic planning committee will call the shots. Japan will seek to divide and isolate its enemies from each other - and to establish a position of strength based on interior lines, control of critical resource areas, and seizing or contesting points needed by its enemies to move resources or supplies critical either to their economies or to any offensive war effort. It also will hope to deny the enemy the opportunity to build bases early in areas too close to critical resources - by seizing those areas and forcing any build up to occur after their recapture. It will do this in the context of a combined arms strategy with air dominance: Tojo himself was air minded - former head of the JAAF - and one of the first Japanese leaders to travel by airplane on a regular basis and is likely to have supported such a proposal. But the foundation arm of Imperial Forces is the infantry - Japan will attempt to bring its superior numbers of troops to bear in a timely way at places that may matter. The IJA mostly sat out WWII - this IJA won't do that.
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