Crushing the Dragonfly - JonReb (A) vs Tone (J)

Crushing the Dragonfly - JonReb (A) vs Tone (J) (Full Version)

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jonreb31 -> Crushing the Dragonfly - JonReb (A) vs Tone (J) (8/2/2010 8:43:03 AM)
-----The Dragonfly can fly back to his base from this point!----- War has come to the Pacific, and it's up to me to put down the tyrannical Japanese Empire. The war has been roaring for several weeks now and there has been a relatively small break in fighting since New Year's Eve has arrived. I have a fun surprise for him on New Year's day however... Tone and I have already had a short 'testing match' before we agreed to a restart due to some issues with the mod we were using. My short analysis is that he is a careful, methodical, and logistical opponent who does his best to consolidate and protect his forces. I believe that he is not a big risk-taker and will try to seek decisive battle with my forces on his own terms. For him this mindset gives him certain advantages and disadvantages, and I plan to exploit the disadvantages. Strategic Thoughts For the first few months of the war I have/will be using deception more than firepower to slow down his advance. In our last game I was pursuing a fortress Java strategy and I think he picked up on the hints of what my strategy was. For this game I have been following the same expected pattern of a Java buildup and I think he might be taking the bait. I've also been slightly aggressive with my naval forces to keep him constantly guessing as to when I'll strike him next-- so far this appears to have slowed him down since he has been using heavier escorts and has not been fanning out into my territories as fast as he should. Of course Fortress Java is not my strategy anymore. I've put my crosshairs onto an early buildup of Burma and the South Pacific. From these two arenas I'll launch my counterattack once the Japanese offensive runs out of steam. The War's History Pearl Harbor was raided, the Philippines is under siege, the Japanese army is rolling down the Malaya peninsula, a Japanese army is approaching the Burma border and the empty Solomons are being occupied by the marauding sons of the emperor. The soldiers, sailors, and airmen of the Allies are as furious as hornets and will fight a total war to crush the Dragonfly. On land the losses have been relatively light since the best our soldiers' can do is fall back, consolidate, and dig in until the superior Japanese army bangs at their doors. In Malaya the Japanese are 1-2 weeks away from the outskirts of Singapore. In the Philippines the battle of Clark Field is beginning, Manila has been abandoned, and brave US and Filipino soldiers in the mountains of Malabay have engaged in an intense fight for the last week. In Burma a large Allied army is gathering at the border and is going to meet the Japanese advance head on. In the air war the allies have lost over 400 aircraft and the Japanese have a 2-1 kill ratio with the ever fearful Zero dominating the skies. At Singapore drones of my Buffalo fighters were shot down as I desperately kept a CAP over my transports evacuating troops. In the Philippines the P-40 has been mauled badly but continues to make it's presence known. The PBYs of the Philippines are heroes after taking an attacking stance against Japanese shipping and warships-- the pilots have reported one heavy cruiser torpedoed, one light cruiser heavily damaged and expected to sink, one destroyer confirmed sunk, and one transport confirmed sunk. [image]http://imgur.com/1awSB.png[/image] Air Losses [image]https://www.fiddlersgreen.net/aircraft/Brewster-Buffalo/IMAGES/Brewster-Buffalo-Bombed.jpg[/image] The Buffalo. A pretty plane but not much good at fighting. My Witptracker has been acting funky so I'll post a full sunk ships sit rep later. At sea the Allies have lost 53 ships and 17 ships are moderately to heavily damaged. The Japanese have a confirmed 20 ships sunk with at least a dozen ships damaged. The highlights: At the Pearl Harbor attack one of my submarine captains won the medal of honor for putting a torpedo into the Kido Butai's mothership Akagi. I predict Akagi to be in the repair yard for maybe two more months which opens up windows of opportunity against a weakened Japanese carrier force. In the Pearl Harbor air strike I lost two battleships and one heavy cruiser. The other six battleships were badly damaged and most of the other ships at Pearl got off scot-free or sustained only minor damage. Off the north coast of the Philippines a strengthened Force Z attacked the Japanese amphibious landings but ran into a major IJN battleship task force. The battleship Prince of Wales and light cruiser Dragon were lost but not after a heavy duel with the IJN battleship Yamashiro which also put her at the bottom. [image]http://www.divejohor.com/photos/Prince%20of%20Whales.jpg[/image] Photo of Prince of Whales before the Japanese attacks Near Saigon dutch submarines put a torpedo into both the escort carrier Hosho and light cruiser Kashii. Both ships should be out of action for quite some time. As mentioned before the PBYs based in the Philippines have also torpedoed the heavy cruiser Maya, sunk the destroyer Natsugumo and put two torpedoes and one bomb into the light cruiser Oi. The latter is expected to sink unless a miracle occurs. Off of Australia I made the unfortunate decision to send two heavy cruisers unescorted down the Australian coast towards Sydney. A Japanese submarine ambushed and sank the heavy cruiser Penascola who already had damage after a battle against an IJN amphibious landing around the Marshall Islands. Now the war road is ahead, and a long road it will be.

jonreb31 -> RE: Crushing the Dragonfly - JonReb (A) vs Tone (J) (8/2/2010 8:47:12 AM)
New Year Day's surprise Force Repulse, based around the battlecruiser Repulse, has made a long course from the Philippines to the east side of New Guinea. A Japanese amphibious landing of about 10 ships which is covered by what seems to be a Japanese cruiser task force with an approximate of 8 ships and potentially 5 heavy cruisers is the target. This surprise attack with my superior force should be the last thing he expects. [image]http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/1434/53567460.png[/image]

topeverest -> RE: Crushing the Dragonfly - JonReb (A) vs Tone (J) (8/2/2010 4:37:36 PM)
-1 on KB isnt all that different. I wouldnt take that to the bank as a license to gamble.

jonreb31 -> RE: Crushing the Dragonfly - JonReb (A) vs Tone (J) (8/3/2010 4:49:11 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: topeverest -1 on KB isnt all that different. I wouldnt take that to the bank as a license to gamble. Welcome aboard Andy. I agree, this doesn't mean I should go full speed ahead into the KB's jaws. However for me it does open the question whether Tone will be more conservative and defensive with the KB and allow me to move around more freely in my own territories.. or less freely in his territories-- depends on how you look at it. Speaking of that... the KB was in the right place at the right time for this turn. Not just the KB gave me a bad turn though.. my fleet's performance was simply terrible today. I couldn't believe my eyes at the time and had the idea in my head that it was a desync issue for a short while. More on that tomorrow since Tone is spending extra time on his turn and only gave me the replay.

jonreb31 -> RE: Crushing the Dragonfly - JonReb (A) vs Tone (J) (8/4/2010 12:01:10 AM)
A bitter 1942 New Year's Day I believe I've experienced my "Savo Island" of the war. I'll let the cold hard facts show you what happened at the Battle of Lae: quote: Night Time Surface Combat, near Lae at 99,126, Range 5,000 Yards Japanese aircraft no flights Allied aircraft no flights Japanese aircraft losses No Japanese losses Allied aircraft losses No Allied losses Japanese Ships CA Aoba, Shell hits 6, on fire CA Kinugasa, Shell hits 15, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk CA Furutaka CA Kako DD Ikazuchi DD Inazuma DD Oboro, Shell hits 1 DD Ushio Allied Ships BC Repulse, Shell hits 22, Torpedo hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage CA Houston, Shell hits 3, Torpedo hits 4, and is sunk CA Louisville CA Australia CA Exeter, Shell hits 2, on fire CL Leander CL Achilles CL De Ruyter CL Adelaide CL Enterprise CL Danae, Shell hits 1 CL Durban CL Dauntless CL Ceres CL Mauritius CL Glasgow, Shell hits 1 CL Marblehead CL Caledon DD Barker DD Peary, Shell hits 1 DD Pillsbury DD Pope DD Whipple Improved night sighting under 96% moonlight Maximum visibility in Overcast Conditions and 96% moonlight: 8,000 yards [image]http://imgur.com/sFB3P.png[/image] The Repulse and Houston not looking too happy only minutes after the battle starts quote: Night Time Surface Combat, near Lae at 99,126, Range 9,000 Yards Japanese Ships CL Naka, Shell hits 22, heavy fires, heavy damage DD Uzuki, Shell hits 1 DD Kikuzuki DD Yuzuki PB Shoei Maru, Shell hits 3, heavy fires PB Shotoku Maru, Shell hits 4, on fire xAK Yokohama Maru, Shell hits 3, on fire xAK Kogyoku Maru, Shell hits 8, heavy fires, heavy damage xAK Ryunan Maru, Shell hits 2, on fire xAK Kazan Maru, Shell hits 12, heavy fires, heavy damage xAK Eizan Maru, Shell hits 3 xAK Yae Maru xAK Daihachikyo Maru, Shell hits 19, heavy fires, heavy damage xAK Daijukyo Maru, Shell hits 12, heavy fires, heavy damage Allied Ships CA Louisville CA Australia, Shell hits 2 CA Exeter, on fire CL Leander CL Achilles CL De Ruyter CL Adelaide CL Enterprise CL Danae, Shell hits 1 CL Durban CL Dauntless CL Ceres CL Mauritius CL Glasgow CL Marblehead CL Caledon, Shell hits 11, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage DD Barker DD Peary, Shell hits 1, on fire DD Pillsbury, Shell hits 3, on fire DD Pope, Shell hits 1 DD Whipple Improved night sighting under 96% moonlight Maximum visibility in Overcast Conditions and 96% moonlight: 8,000 yards I also got amongst the Japanese transport force. I would expect better results but I'll take it. That's phase one. Instead of my task force, under the command of the aggressive Admiral Collinson, dealing a heavy blow to the Japanese like I initially planned the opposite happened to me. It was saddening to watch the Repulse and Houston get torn to ribbons before they got into the fight. Despite running into the less modern Japanese heavy cruisers under Admiral Goto they won a victory-- maybe not a clean sheet one but an unexpected one. One battlecruiser sunk, one heavy cruiser sunk, and one light cruiser heavily damaged to one Japanese heavy cruiser sunk, one light cruiser sunk, and at least 4 transports sunk with several others damaged. Most of my light cruisers didn't even fire a shot, even when we closed in on the Japanese transports. Phase 2 doesn't get any better: quote: Morning Air attack on TF, near Lae at 99,127 Weather in hex: Overcast Raid detected at 120 NM, estimated altitude 15,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 45 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 22 B5N2 Kate x 34 D3A1 Val x 13 Allied aircraft no flights Japanese aircraft losses B5N2 Kate: 1 destroyed, 2 damaged Allied aircraft losses Allied Ships CA Exeter, Bomb hits 4, Torpedo hits 3, and is sunk CL Caledon, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk CL Adelaide, Bomb hits 3, Torpedo hits 3, and is sunk BC Repulse, and is sunk DD Pillsbury, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage The KB... I really didn't expect that. I had the small warning in the back of my head that I hadn't spotted the KB since wake island and they could be anywhere but supporting a minor landing at Lae was not the role I calculated they would be used for. There's no way he could have spotted me before the battle, I made a clean cut from Soerbaja, to Townsville, and to the heavily clouded Milne Bay east of Port Moresby before the strike. Nevertheless it happened and at the very least now I know where the KB is and maybe it reinforces my idea of it playing a more conservative (still deadly) role. I should also be very thankful that overcast covered my retreat and the KB didn't get in a second strike. The battle of Lae ends with me losing BC Repulse, CA Houston, CA Exeter, CL Caledon, CL Adelaide and DD Pillsburg I'm 100% sure will either sink on it's own or be finished off tomorrow morning. The Japanese lose CA Kinugasa, CL Naka, and 4+ transports. A dark day indeed-- the wandering flute music that WiTP played afterwards was very fitting. If anyone has advice on why the allied ships performed so poorly for the surface combat I'm all ears. Was my task force over stacked, did it come down to the close quarter and high moonlight night fighting or simply bad luck? The remnants of Force Repulse.. which now needs a new name.. made clean their escape in the afternoon phase to Milne Bay and will be basing at Sydney where my USN carriers have also just arrived. I'm fairly certain the KB will try to finish what it started so even though I have a head start I've ordered flank speed. Speaking of the USN carriers the Yorktown arrived last turn and has picked up escorts at San Francisco-- they've now set course for Sydney. A convoy of US army fighters are also heading to Sydney to further secure my position there. In another part of the Pacific allied fighter power in the Philippines has been swept away. The survivors are being withdrawn. My PBYs also sank a sub chaser today (I know, not much) but will have to stand down from further naval attacks without proper fighter coverage.

topeverest -> RE: Crushing the Dragonfly - JonReb (A) vs Tone (J) (8/4/2010 12:38:14 AM)
Dont think it was as bad as Savo. not spectacular results on the sea but no Savo. The morning Air was the decisive. I would put that experience in my tool kit and remember that he is going to do that again and again. It was his CVL's or only one main CV. You can use this tactic against him at a point of your choosing in the future. As a question. What was the justification to challenge that particular landing among all you could choose.

jonreb31 -> RE: Crushing the Dragonfly - JonReb (A) vs Tone (J) (8/4/2010 2:24:17 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: topeverest Dont think it was as bad as Savo. not spectacular results on the sea but no Savo. The morning Air was the decisive. I would put that experience in my tool kit and remember that he is going to do that again and again. It was his CVL's or only one main CV. You can use this tactic against him at a point of your choosing in the future. As a question. What was the justification to challenge that particular landing among all you could choose. Well the dynamics were different, but you're right it wasn't eye for eye the same as the surface battle of Savo Island. Nontheless I lost my fair share of cruisers and the battlecruiser Repulse with her heavier armor and 15 inch guns is a worthy sinking for my opponent considering his ships' circumstances. The intense success of his torpedoes also reminded me of Savo-- I can't help but wonder what the result would have been if the Repulse wasn't knocked out almost immediately after the battle started. One of the most interesting things my opponent did was use the four heavy cruisers (Aoba, Furutaka, Kako, and Kinugasa) that were originally under Admiral Goto's command in the Solomons before the battle of Savo Island. This tells me a few things about his playstyle... I wonder what other similarities he'll bring from history. I'm just about 110% certain it's the KB that was involved. He would have got in more strikes if it wasn't for the weather. Firstly he attacked with at least four squadrons (five if you count the zeroes) and two of them were Vals -- the Japanese light carriers only start with Kates for their attack aircraft. Secondly my naval patrols report 12+ ships, 6 of them CVs, with approximately 400 aircraft north of where the battle take place. Thirdly the mini-KB has been operating around the southern Philippines since the beginning of the war and are still spotted near the landings at Mindanao. So it is certainly the KB that I ran into. It was absolutely an important experience. This is quite likely the type of tactic he is going to try and use and be most successful with throughout the war. I'll try to change the successful part though. As far as the inspiration to attack here.. well after the battle off Luzon's coast my opponent reacted very strongly and has battleship formations in the Philippine area as well as the Mini KB. Further west in the DEI he has made absolutely no headway at all (no dutch bases have fallen yet. None.) and it was extremely likely a future attack on the DEI would be escorted by strong surface assets. So instead of waiting around I turned my eyes to the Solomons-- a place where my patrol planes at Port Moresby were constantly spotting only 4-5 cruisers operating in the area. This would accomplish a few things for me: -Potentially easy and heavy losses for his cruiser force -Let him know that I'm willing to strike him anywhere and anytime that he lets me, which would ultimately.. -Slow down his advance, and make him more cautious and predictable The landings at Lae themselves were simply a convenience-- the heavy cruisers were originally slouching around at Rabaul where the airfield was still only level 3 and only a small compliment of aircraft were in place. I would have attacked the cruisers at Rabaul if they stayed there, but since they went to cover the transports at Lae I might as well shake up his cruisers and sink some transports as well. Obviously not every plan goes according to plan, and I got the shorter end of the stick. Sorry for the long response. I love thinking about these things.

topeverest -> RE: Crushing the Dragonfly - JonReb (A) vs Tone (J) (8/4/2010 6:55:32 PM)
The 'mind game' is the game as far as I am concerned. IMO, it appears your opponent has a compact, conservative battle style indicated by heavily supported decisive battle tatics. To use an oversimplified naval strategy continuoum scale to highlight your basic choices: fleet in being (avoid engagement) to decisive Battle (Jutland / Tushima). Inbetween you have naval attrition and sealane interdiction strategies. While you can bunker down in the short run, you are going to be more sucessful not employing the fleet in being strategy. The likely countertactic is to slow him down by interdiction and force him to spread out his fleet...by the tactic of sealane interdiction. This includes DD / raiders / subs / CV's in places like the Sea of Okhutsk / Japan, wake, Marshalls, and all around where you can spin them into enemy ports and sea lanes for quick strikes and then retreat. Dont wait for an engagement. You will bag a good number of merchants if you are successful and significantly interdict his long term effort. He will have to counter it quickly or be lost. IMO I would not be in a hurry to have that decisive CV or BB battle if it were me. He is likely buttoned down in a big way for that. you want to strike where he isnt, not wait for him and just fight defensive naval battles. A really good overview on period naval strategy is a book called "Seapower and Strategy" edited by Colin Gray and Roger Barnett. Required reading as far as I am concerned. good luck.

jonreb31 -> RE: Crushing the Dragonfly - JonReb (A) vs Tone (J) (8/5/2010 12:43:29 AM)
Thanks again Andy, you speak words of wisdom. I agree with most of what you said and will be trying to apply it more vigorously. I used to be a very defensive-cautious player but I've been breaking out of that as of late. I immensely enjoy the challenge, risk, and strategy that WiTP provides and learn something new every day which can often be applied for both the game and outside of it. Nonetheless there's always a fear of mine to avoid being a commander like Braxton Bragg who was aggressive but had no idea how to use it. I also want to avoid uninspired engagements for reasons such as "I was bored". But let's see how much fear and destruction I can bring down on my opponent before my real war economy kicks in-- that's probably the best of all challenges, accomplishing a lot with little. January 2nd 1942 Submarine Operations Today I heavily damaged the AKE Syohei Maru and put a torpedo into the big freighter xAK Matsue Maru-- both of them off the Japanese coast. I've sent a lot of submarines into Japan's home waters since there has been a lot of activity there. Most of my hits are duds but sometimes I get lucky like today. The Jap submarines sank the xAK Woolgar outside of Batavia. The Woolgar was heading towards Bataan to unload supplies. I have 6 more ships that are also on this mission and I've successfully unloaded approximately 25,000 tons of supply since the beginning of the war which will be vital for the defenders. Burma [image]http://imgur.com/2pGcC.jpg[/image] The Japanese captured Moulmein yesterday with 300 AV. In the jungle south of Pegu I have deployed 700 AV worth of allied troops to block his advance and I have 300 more AV marching to reinforce them. I also have over 1,000 AV on ships from various locations that will begin unloading at Rangoon within a week. 40,000 tons of supplies are currently stockpiled in Rangoon with convoys bringing in tens of thousands more. So I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say that Burma will have a formidable defense and if he crosses the river into Burma he'll be in for a nasty surprise. It'll probably debunk my "fortress java" strategy but it'll be interesting to see how Tone reacts. Malaya/DEI [image]http://imgur.com/f23nj.png[/image] The Japanese army is approaching Malacca unopposed. The IJAAF has air superiority over the peninsula and has been bombing Singapore almost every day. It doesn't really bother me though because I only have 300 AV left in Singapore-- the whole of the III Indian Corps that was deployed in Malaya are currently on ships towards Rangoon. I'm pretty sure Tone was aware of my evacuation so he might even take Singapore in January. The task forces east of Malaya by the looks of it have plenty of transports and plenty of escorts. It seems the invasion of the DEI is about to begin. There's not much I can do about it but I'm converging all dutch submarines into the Borneo area to attempt to interdict his ships. Also one error that I realized a few turns ago: I did not start fort construction in any of my Borneo bases. That's almost a month of time that could have been spent building forts-- maybe level 2-3 forts wouldn't make a huge difference but it could have helped slow him down. Philippines The city of Manila was declared an open city by General MacArthur and was today captured by the Japanese army unopposed. Now the Allied army at Clark Field will make their stand. In Mindanao my concentrated forces fighting in the mountains at Malaybalay were finally defeated by the Japanese. There was constant deliberate attacks from the Japanese for over a week so the defenders held out longer than expected and caused heavy Japanese casualties throughout the battle. I couldn't ask more from them. What's left of the Mindanao defenders will retreat to guerrilla positions before the Japanese pursuit catches up with them. China I didn't mention this theater yet, since nothing has really happened. Tone has not started any offensives of his own so he is either fighting a defensive war or is planning for something big. I have been shuffling my troops around and building up power and forts around Sian. I have a "offensive" into the central Japanese positions at Sinyang, Hanoi, and Wuchang. I'm not attacking or attempting to take these places, just pinning down his troops.. which is working out well by the looks of this turn: quote: Ground combat at Sinyang (86,48) Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 19587 troops, 176 guns, 11 vehicles, Assault Value = 699 Defending force 60681 troops, 308 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 1904 Japanese adjusted assault: 337 Allied adjusted defense: 1173 Japanese assault odds: 1 to 3 Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+), preparation(-), experience(-) Attacker: Japanese ground losses: 4485 casualties reported Squads: 10 destroyed, 293 disabled Non Combat: 7 destroyed, 204 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 26 disabled Allied ground losses: 239 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 14 disabled Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 16 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Assaulting units: 3rd Division 1st Ind.Mixed Brigade 18th RGC Temp. Division 52nd Road Const Co 67th JAAF AF Coy Defending units: 29th Chinese Corps 13th Chinese Corps 85th Chinese Corps 90th Chinese Corps 41st Chinese Corps 12th Chinese Corps 92nd Chinese Corps 2nd Group Army 5th War Area 3rd Group Army 22nd Group Army 31st Group Army My Chinese forces in southern and western China are also gathering. If he doesn't come to me I'm going to most likely attack Canton to give him as little breathing room as possible. South Pacific My ships made good their escape and are going to dock at Brisbane tomorrow. Also it looks like my carriers at Sydney were spotted by a Japanese sub's Glen, or at least my carriers spotted the Glen. I'm starting to think this this might actually be a good thing. If as a result the KB decides to stay in the Solomons area that opens up places where the KB won't be. I doubt Tone will come down to Sydney seeking decisive battle, it doesn't fit him. The Light Cruiser Boise is going on an experimental raid into the seas north of Truk. She is currently far east of Rabaul in between Tone's search arcs. My opponent needs supplies, fuel, and troops in the South Pacific to come from the north so that seems to be a ripe place for the Boise to strike some fear into his merchants. New orders for the Yorktown Instead of heading towards Sydney the Yorktown has special orders to make speed towards the Kurile islands. Their objective is to sink Japanese transports operating in the area.

perkinh -> RE: Crushing the Dragonfly - JonReb (A) vs Tone (J) (8/5/2010 3:59:20 AM)
Very nice artwork Reb....what mod is that?

perkinh -> RE: Crushing the Dragonfly - JonReb (A) vs Tone (J) (8/5/2010 4:01:56 AM)
Have you ever given any thought to ,or read an AAR, where they fortify Sumatra and kind of force the allies to wreck the oilfields and production to get you out?

jonreb31 -> RE: Crushing the Dragonfly - JonReb (A) vs Tone (J) (8/5/2010 5:23:47 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Gabede Very nice artwork Reb....what mod is that? I'm using the DMP mod for my graphics. It's certainly very attractive and I like the taste it brings to the game. You can find more info here: http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=2393702 quote: ORIGINAL: Gabede Have you ever given any thought to ,or read an AAR, where they fortify Sumatra and kind of force the allies to wreck the oilfields and production to get you out? I've wondered if it's possible. Most times the allies retreat from the oilfields they only seem to manage to damage very little or none of the facilities. But from what I know Sumatra isn't essential to keep the Japanese industry running-- the other oilfields in the DEI are enough. Although without Sumatra the Jap's fuel reserves would be very limited so I suppose with Sumatra's oilfields heavily damaged it could spell rapid disaster for Japan if his other fuel lines were cut off at any point of the war. Nemo121 in his AAR has approached a very strong defense of Sumatra and seems to have deterred his opponent from even attacking the island, so you might want to give his AAR a read: http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=2330017 Be warned if you love the Japanese reading this AAR will potentially make you shed tears.

topeverest -> RE: Crushing the Dragonfly - JonReb (A) vs Tone (J) (8/6/2010 1:18:45 AM)
Love the American Civial War reference. Bragg, Polk, Burnside, Pope, Halleck. They all were equally incompetant in their own way. Just dont be called McClelland, Ledlie, or Pillow! You'll have to earn Chamberlain, Forrest, Reynolds (JF), Kearny, or Jackson (T)

jonreb31 -> RE: Crushing the Dragonfly - JonReb (A) vs Tone (J) (8/8/2010 9:09:34 AM)
Someday I'll be like Jackson.. someday. That's a hard title to earn. I'll have to settle for someone like Henry Heth for now [:D] January 3rd-4th 1942 Battle of Borneo doomed before it began The last two turns my opponent has made a successful attack on northwest Borneo. He has brought heavy cover including elements of the mini-KB. My submarines and air attacks have been unsuccessful. Tone has brought overwhelming land forces to ensure victory. There's not much else I can do to stop the Japanese drive while he has so much momentum, so I'll have to watch and wait. Don't mess with Singapore's flak Since I started basing aircraft (sparingly) at Singapore my opponent has increased his bombing raids and also lowered his altitude-- most likely to try and strike a blow to my aircraft on the ground. Singapore's flak gunners would have none of this and approx 15 or so Japanese bombers have been downed either by flak or operational losses in the last two days. Langley's woes The Langley, the USN's first aircraft carrier, is in bad shape. She initially made the escape from Manila unharmed and was part of a large convoy HEADING towards Australia until she was brutally torpedoed twice by a Japanese submarine. She can only make 5 knots and has heavy flooding. After two weeks of desperate repairing there's still concern the Japanese offensive will catch up to her. [image]http://imgur.com/bC5oa.png[/image] The Langley is useless as a combat carrier but holds a certain symbolic value and could provide useful auxiliary support in the future if she can make the escape to India. The Boise Voyage The light cruiser Boise is on a daring mission to strike at Japanese shipping in between Truk and Tokyo. Right now they're arcing around Truk's search radius and then it'll be clear waters to hopefully cause some havoc in. If this raid goes well I'll be encouraged to organize more ships for raiding duty.. especially for the deadly Brookyln class cruiser. [image]http://imgur.com/Q3Ab8.png[/image] Clark Field standing firm It'll take awhile for the Japanese to break through here. I have gathered 2,200 AV worth of Filipino and US men dug in behind level 4 forts. My 155MM and 105MM artillery gun bombardments have been wreaking havoc on the Japanese with over 200 casualties inflicted per day while my positions remain largely unscathed. 55,000 tons of supplies are stockpiled around Clark Field and Bataan so this should be a tough rock to crack. Burma at a standoff It seems Tone, for the time being, isn't going to cross the river into Burma where my army awaits. I've also spotted some of his troops moving in from the east, possibly trying to flank me. The 18th British Division is being unloaded at Rangoon so I'll continue to reinforce my position and send a force to secure my northeast flank along the Salween river. I tried to play nice with low altitude CAP but my fighters protecting Rangoon got slaughtered last turn by Zeros sweeping at 30,000FT. I have no choice but to play the stratosphere game. Battle of Sinyang turning in my favor After the disastrous attack the Japanese attack tried on January 1st I counterattacked and got pretty good results. quote: Ground combat at Sinyang (86,48) Allied Deliberate attack Attacking force 55958 troops, 308 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 1894 Defending force 17039 troops, 176 guns, 13 vehicles, Assault Value = 474 Allied adjusted assault: 514 Japanese adjusted defense: 275 Allied assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 4) Allied Assault reduces fortifications to 3 Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+), forts(+), preparation(-), experience(-) Attacker: supply(-) Japanese ground losses: 570 casualties reported Squads: 11 destroyed, 36 disabled Non Combat: 4 destroyed, 44 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled Allied ground losses: 1344 casualties reported Squads: 7 destroyed, 126 disabled Non Combat: 6 destroyed, 98 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 8 disabled I have reserves moving into Sinyang to keep a hold of the initiative and potentially seize the town. This is exactly the kind of battle that I want.. if I can cause significant casualties to his forces and put a wedge into his line then it will further my goal of tying down his troops in China while also stretching the fight away from my vital Chinese cities.

jonreb31 -> RE: Crushing the Dragonfly - JonReb (A) vs Tone (J) (8/15/2010 2:24:57 PM)
I'm traveling at the moment so it's difficult to find time for the game and AAR at the same time. Nevertheless the game is going steady, although there's been a scarcity of good news.

jonreb31 -> RE: Crushing the Dragonfly - JonReb (A) vs Tone (J) (8/25/2010 8:49:47 AM)
January 5th-9th 1942 The biggest activity has been around Borneo for the last week. The Dragonfly is spreading out his wings a little with fresh conquests, but I'm happy for the silence around Burma and the South Pacific where I have been focusing my main buildup efforts. I plan an early offensive from Burma into Siam, but more on that later. The Japanese advance continues to be methodical, nearly all of his axises of attack are escorted by carriers and strong surface escorts (battleships, cruisers). There haven't been any real openings in his recent attacks for me to strike at so making my very own stabs into his territories is a developing doctrine I am trying to apply. Boise hits home [image]http://imgur.com/5NNE6.png[/image] Right off the coast of the Japanese heartland the Boise struck hard against a convoy of AKs. Two AKs and two PBs are confirmed sunk while two AKs and one PB are heavily damaged with heavy fires so a few more should have sank throughout the day. The AKs and PBs sustained a lot more hits than I would have expected, but I'm still satisfied with the result. Day Time Surface Combat, near Tanegashima at 102,63, Range 18,000 Yards Japanese Ships xAK Kikukawa Maru, Shell hits 11, and is sunk xAK Natisan Maru xAK Imizu Maru, Shell hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage xAK Tokiwa Maru, Shell hits 12, and is sunk xAK Asuka Maru, Shell hits 5, heavy fires, heavy damage PB Akagane Maru, Shell hits 5, heavy fires, heavy damage PB Kogane Maru PB Teimei Maru, Shell hits 15, and is sunk PB Taiko Maru, Shell hits 20, and is sunk Allied Ships CL Boise, Shell hits 2 Sadly this is what I missed out on: Day Time Surface Combat, near Tanegashima at 101,63, Range 25,000 Yards Japanese Ships DD Nokaze DD Namikaze DD Numakaze AMC Asaka Maru xAK Melbourne Maru xAK Kinugasa Maru xAK Kinai Maru xAK Goyo Maru AMC Bankok Maru xAP Tatsuta Maru xAP Kamakura Maru xAP Kongo Maru Allied Ships CL Boise My submarines spotted this task force and I wanted a go at it.. which would have been very juicy indeed especially if there were troops onboard. Sadly the AKs got in the way and when the Boise ran into the APs afterward there was no ammo left to shoot with. The Boise has probably created quite a scare for the Japanese people and government so she is now retiring towards Pearl Harbor at flank speed. I'm sure hell is going to be right behind her. Warspite's Raid Tomorrow there should be some mayhem at Kwajalein Island once Warspite's 15 inch guns start plastering the port. My intelligence and submarines have reported approximately 50(!) ships of various types docked at Kwajalein. The shipcount is probably an exaggeration but I definitely hope his port is overstacked so I can sink or cause some major damage to his vessels. My biggest worry is if there are Nettys operating in the area, but I'm willing to take the risk. Yorktown's sortie The Yorktown TF is about 3-4 days from the Kurile Islands area. I'll wait for my submarines to sight convoys around Sakhalin before striking. I don't want to get too close to the Home Islands since it'll probably become a nest of air activity after the Boise raid. Borneo being torn limb by limb The Japanese are doubtlessly building up the NW corner of Borneo into hellbases for the IJN Naval bombers to set up shop at. There's also another direction of attack along the east coast of Borneo which is giving Japan it's first new sources of fuel. There's nothing I can do to counteract the Japanese attack, and maybe it's better that I don't try to. I have almost no shipping or warships in the DEI area so I don't have to worry about losing ships. I'll continue to let the Dutch train and dig in their grunts and pilots. Siam Offensive As I mentioned I am planning an offensive out of Burma and into the heartland of Siam. My objective is to smash the understrength Japanese army in the region and besiege/capture Bangkok. From my perspective this should accomplish several things: - Attrition Japanese forces on favorable terms - Cut off the land supply route to the Japanese army in Malaya - Potentially make my opponent split up the Japanese army in Southeast Asia therefore slowing down the capture of Singapore and/or other bases in the region Right now I have 38,000 troops from the 1st Burmese Division, the 18th British Division, and several other brigades/elements gathered at the Burmese border. This makes up 1,200 AV. The 17th Indian Division of 6,000 men(which is slightly understrength and at 250AV) is assigned to flank protection. This alone is quite a good force, but the real kicker is going to be unloading at Rangoon tomorrow and will turn this into a real offensive: 50,000 troops comprised of the 8th Australian Division, 11th British Division, 9th Indian Division, and various other elements including Armored veteran units from North Africa. Hurricane squadrons have begun arriving and will be important in the fight for air superiority. Blenheims are also beginning to grow in numbers and two squadrons of B-17 bombers will be of excellent use. Naval forces will for the most part not have a role for this offensive except for supply convoys to Rangoon. Right now Rangoon has a stockpile of 65,000 tons of supplies, so it shouldn't be a problem. I'll draw up the plan on a map to illustrate the offensive in a turn or two. D-Day will be around January 16th-- I pray to the God's of the Pacific for good fortune [&o]

jonreb31 -> RE: Crushing the Dragonfly - JonReb (A) vs Tone (J) (8/29/2010 1:31:46 PM)
This is extreme short notice, since I chose to step up my ship date, but this game is going into "vacation" mode for 13 weeks. Marine boot camp isn't too lenient on recruits fooling around with laptops. But that doesn't mean I won't be thinking about the game from time to time while I'm over there! Now I better not miss the bus. Good luck to everyone's WITP endeavorer and Semper Fi. [sm=Tank-fahr09.gif]

perkinh -> RE: Crushing the Dragonfly - JonReb (A) vs Tone (J) (8/29/2010 8:14:18 PM)
Semper Fi !!! If i read right you are heading to Parris Island...good luck and be strong in the mind. I look foward to welcoming you to the family.

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