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Hortlund -> Where the eastern wind is blowing... AAR against Canoerebel (4/9/2012 4:50:40 PM)
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No Canoerebel in this thread please.
Higashi no kaze ame -east wind, rain.
This will be an AAR about my game against Canoerebel. I was very happy to recieve a reply from him to my opponents wanted thread. Ive been away from the game for about half a year due to personal reasons, but things have settled now, and I should have time for a game. I havent spoken that much with Canoe before, but Ive seen him around in the forums, Ive enjoyed his previous AARs, and he seems to be a really great guy, so Im looking forward to this game very much.
We have an interesting game coming. We have traded PDU-on and realistic R&D off against reliable USN torpedos on. That means the US subs will be a major threat from day 1. Should be interesting. I will not abuse the R&D-setting. Ive been toying with the idea that I can send a long-range sub on a "round the map"-trip (in other words, they are going to Germany), and when that sub returns to Tokyo, I will be allowed to start research of a third generation aircraft. Perhaps Im silly, but I like that idea. When/if we go to war against the USSR, I am allowed to research any aircraft I want. I havent told Canoe about this self-imposed HR of mine, but I like the idea and I think I will follow it.
I have looked over some of Canoes old AARs, and clearly he likes the northern front. So that will be a priority I suppose. He is also afraid of me going for auto-victory (which I wont) so I will try to play into those fears. Perhaps I can make him more cautious than he has to for the first year.. Other than that, he seems very capable and a truly challenging opponent.
Im working on the setup right now, but I would like to kick off the discussion here. Which of the winds are blowing? East, obviously, since it is hardly possible to play this game without a conflict with the US. But after that? India, Australia, US or the USSR?
I took a look at Russia, but that seems like a no-brainer. 8-9k AVs, lots and lots of artillery and aircraft, and for what? The possible gain of 100-something HI and 100-something refineries. God no.
India or Australia then...?
India seems more attractive, plenty of HI over there. It is also closer, at least it feels closer. On the other hand, Darwin is a "must-own" place. There are a few of those, and taking Australia would of cource force Canoe to fight there before he can go anywhere else. India is also interesting, there is a cluster of 4-5 hexes that would be enough to expand my industry for years. But to get to Australia or India, I would have to fight through an army and an airforce.
Actually Im looking at China. Its the obvious target, it has plenty of resources and industry, although I would have to wade through Chinese army units to get there. But the benefits are obvious. I get to fight close to home, I dont need to own very much of the oceans to get there and home, the Chinese army is crap, so is their airforce.
Ive been sitting looking at the map for a couple of hours now, and it seems like the best strategy.
So, my very rough strategic plan would be:
1) Take the oilfields in the NEI.
2) Secure the SLOCs between NEI and Japan.
3) Ensure a level of industrial output that will allow us to produce enough combat units to carry the war beyond 1945
On the operational level these three broad strategic objectives would of cource be broken down into several sub-objectives. I'll get back to that later. These three strategic objectives can also be described as the three phases of this war. Expansion, consolidation and defence. I will want to achieve objectives 1&2 as soon as possible, as that will give me better chances to achieve 3.
And, just for the fun of it... I will try to do some sort of dramatic storyline in this AAR, bear with me gentlemen.
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