Yanks vs. the Limeys - AU TIGER (Allies) Walker84 (Japan)

Yanks vs. the Limeys - AU TIGER (Allies) Walker84 (Japan) (Full Version)

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AU Tiger_MatrixForum -> Yanks vs. the Limeys - AU TIGER (Allies) Walker84 (Japan) (5/30/2014 4:07:11 PM)
I have finally decided to write an AAR about my game against Walker84 now that his Zero bonus will be running out soon, so things should become more interesting. I hope. Here is the situation, it is May 11, 42, scenario 1, Andy Mac improved Beta, and the Chinese are growing fat on supplies coming over the Burma road. Yes, the Allies still hold Burma from Moulmein and up. I currently have about 430k supply in Rangoon which is slowly trickling over the mountains. Singapore is at fort level 6 and has about 21k supply. All of the resources I pumped in early have been used up. Other than the first trip over the causeway, the sizable Japanese force there has remained very quiet, and I have seen little aerial bombardment of the place. The Japanese control the Southern half of Java, and will likely take the rest fairly soon. Sumatra remains fully in Allied hands, but the Japanese LBA is keeping the airfield at Palembang closed. The Japanese have made a few landings in the Aleutians, and I have been building up some other bases there, but beyond that things are quiet. All of my carriers are intact except for the Enterprise which unluckily encountered a submarine out in the deep waters of the Pacific early on, much like what happened to the Indianapolis in real life. She caught four fish and went down quickly with all planes aboard. That is a quick summary of the situation; I will now go from theater to theater, with screenies, for a more detailed description.

AU Tiger_MatrixForum -> RE: Yanks vs. the Limeys - AU TIGER (Allies) Walker84 (Japan) (5/30/2014 4:26:06 PM)
Burma Early on the Japanese made a half-hearted attempt to invade Burma, which I managed to beat back with some early reinforcements, B-17's from the PI, the AVG, and a combination of British and US surface combat assets. In fact Moulmein is still in ruins from the multiple bombardments the Japanese suffered during their brief stay there. If you look at the map, I am occupying Moulmein with a couple of Burma Army units who are set to “Rest”. I have no desire to rebuild the place for the Japanese who are sure to reoccupy it at some point. I can't wait to hear from Richard when he sees that! I have been running beaucoup supplies into Rangoon continuously in order to keep the Chinese supplied. Hundreds of thousands of supply points have made it over the Burma Road to date, and until recently I had some transport squadrons helping in that quest, but have sent the bulk of them into China. More on that later. I am not fortifying Rangoon beyond level 3 forts, because I will end up having to abandon it eventually to prevent my forces getting trapped there. I am fortifying fall back positions further North however. A few Chines LCU's have had their HQ changed, and are either in Lashio, or are still enroute. The 6th Aussie Division, reinforced with 3 Arty units are working on evicting the 2nd RTA division from Burma near the Thai border. This has no real strategic importance other than an annoyance factor for my opponent. The first attack last turn ended with 1:1 odds with approximately equal losses. This turn my units are set to bombard, and all available LBA bombers are tasked with hitting the 2nd RTA. I have lots of P-40E's tasked with Escort duties. Walker will be able to take Burma whenever he stops dallying in front of Singapore, but it won't be easy for him. [image]local://upfiles/22511/992992428EF94141ACD3B7B955385240.jpg[/image]

AU Tiger_MatrixForum -> RE: Yanks vs. the Limeys - AU TIGER (Allies) Walker84 (Japan) (5/30/2014 4:52:27 PM)
Singapore The entire Allied Malayan Army is in a Sitzkrieg with the IJA in Singapore. Forts are at level 6, morale is high, and I have been continually running supplies into the base from Palembang with scads of my otherwise useless US fleet boats. Because no forts are being built, and there is virtually zero activity there, I have been able to maintain a supply level at around 21k. Very early in the game I changed all of the leaders that needed changing there, so the Allied forces are in a high state of readiness. All of the losses that were sustained when the Japanese came over the causeway have been replenished. Yes, Richard will be able to take the place when he feels like it, but it will cost him dearly. [image]local://upfiles/22511/A84AD4187384442C929F93FDD59F60DE.jpg[/image]

Bullwinkle58 -> RE: Yanks vs. the Limeys - AU TIGER (Allies) Walker84 (Japan) (5/30/2014 4:54:48 PM)
Zero bonus?

AU Tiger_MatrixForum -> RE: Yanks vs. the Limeys - AU TIGER (Allies) Walker84 (Japan) (5/30/2014 4:59:49 PM)
DEI Japanese progress in the DEI has been slow, even though I did not reinforce that theater, excepting Koepang, which I consider more as a part of Australian defenses. The Japanese are in force in Southern Java, and rolling up the rest of the Island. I didn't realize how many troops Richard had landed there, and as a result I got caught with my pants down in Soerabaja. I lost a lot of LBA there along with 10 priceless B-17E bombers. That hurt. [image]local://upfiles/22511/B5E728D4999245B5ABBA893397AB450B.jpg[/image]

AU Tiger_MatrixForum -> RE: Yanks vs. the Limeys - AU TIGER (Allies) Walker84 (Japan) (5/30/2014 5:00:52 PM)
Don't the Japanese get a Zero bonus in the first six months? Or is that merely bad thinking left over from the initial WITP?

Bullwinkle58 -> RE: Yanks vs. the Limeys - AU TIGER (Allies) Walker84 (Japan) (5/30/2014 5:11:02 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: AU Tiger Don't the Japanese get a Zero bonus in the first six months? Or is that merely bad thinking left over from the initial WITP? Left over from WITP. Never has been a fighter bonus of any kind in AE. There's a Japanese amphib bonus though.

AU Tiger_MatrixForum -> RE: Yanks vs. the Limeys - AU TIGER (Allies) Walker84 (Japan) (5/30/2014 5:11:09 PM)
Koepang I am running with the Fortress Koepang gambit because of the headaches this has caused my opponent in another game. In this game I added the British 18th Division to the standard mix of AAA and Arty units. A while back, Richard hit Koepang with bombers from the KB, and lost a lot of planes in the process. Every now and again he comes through with a bombardment TF that hasn't done much real damage to the place. There is enough supply and engineering units to keep the base nice and tidy. He does send LBA over on occasion, but the heavy flak tends to keep the damage to a minimum. Eventually he will get serious about the place, but the defenders will get help from the airbases furiously being built in Northern Oz. I am not going to spend any time talking about New Guinea. Richard has taken the usual bases, and has left Port Moresby alone so far. [image]local://upfiles/22511/30FA7FDE3927464CB3014A545C85274C.jpg[/image]

AU Tiger_MatrixForum -> RE: Yanks vs. the Limeys - AU TIGER (Allies) Walker84 (Japan) (5/30/2014 5:35:08 PM)
China I have never played with a well supplied China before, and am still trying to decide how to best use that to my advantage. Initially, Richard was very aggressive in China, but backed off the throttle for some reason I can't fathom. He has given me time to seriously dig in.... Although China as a whole is swimming in supply, I am having trouble getting much to my more eastern bases such as Sian and Ichang. Until recently, I have far too many hungry troops in Sian, but have pulled out all but a core cadre of strong LCU's and HQ units, and that has apparently helped the supply situation there somewhat. I have also moved some US transport squadrons to Chungking where they are ferrying supplies to Sian. Tienshui, north of Sian, was just a dot hex but is now a growing base. I have done this because I like the location of the place – it is just north of the roads leading into central China from Sian, and if Richard ever breaks the Sianese defenses, this base along side his invasion route will give him fits. Or at least, that is my plan. The LCU's that were mauled in the early battles are withdrawing to Central China to rest and refit. Again, this is a luxury I am not used to having. My Chinese Air Force has not seen much action other than sporadic attacks on various bases and the occasional CAP trap, to keep Richard honest. Other than that, they have been training non-stop. [image]local://upfiles/22511/8274F49DF2664766A453D9CCEBE055F6.jpg[/image]

AU Tiger_MatrixForum -> RE: Yanks vs. the Limeys - AU TIGER (Allies) Walker84 (Japan) (5/30/2014 5:42:18 PM)
The Philippines Things are not looking good for the home team here. Although early on I did have some fun with CAP traps over Manila and Clark with P-40E's that I was basing out of Cebu. I had used the Dutch transports, operating from Cebu, to air lift elements of various units in the PI to that base, and it worked brilliantly for a while, at least until Richard figured out where those pesky things were coming from. There is no more fun to be had in the PI; it is now the land of starvation and pestilence. [image]local://upfiles/22511/E5D3A1F301FE44C9998F26977B4A9FD9.jpg[/image]

AU Tiger_MatrixForum -> RE: Yanks vs. the Limeys - AU TIGER (Allies) Walker84 (Japan) (5/30/2014 5:53:09 PM)
The Naval War As I mentioned earlier, all of my carriers beside the Big E are intact and are at an undisclosed location. My initial use of my CV's was to send them West into the IO, and used then to hammer the Malaysian airfields. This obviously caught Richard by surprise as I was able to loiter there for several turns dishing out mayhem. Scout planes from Singapore finally spotted the KB heading into the Gulf of Siam so my CV's fled. The CV's spent a significant amount of time in Cape Town, since then, where they underwent some badly needed AAA upgrades as well as upgrading some airframes. They are ready to sortie forth to kick up a fuss somewhere. Since my CV's are so obviously valuable I have been using them in a way I can best protect them. When they are to go into harm's way, I try to ensure they have plenty of fuel and AO's standing by on their most obvious line of retreat. At this point in the war, I have no issue with running them at full speed from time to time - they are not expected to be used for extended times. Thus, any damage from high speed runs is not an issue for me because I know they will be heading to base for a while anyway. I will say that at this time the CV's are on the map and at sea.

AU Tiger_MatrixForum -> RE: Yanks vs. the Limeys - AU TIGER (Allies) Walker84 (Japan) (5/30/2014 9:11:39 PM)
My other opponent, Skyros, emailed me about possibly invading Indochina from China, and I like the idea. But I would like to ask everybody some advice here. 1) I can peel off some troops from my Southern defensive line around Changsha, maybe 1500-2000 AV's all total and move into Indochina fairly quickly, or 2) I can wait until those troops pulled from Sian can make their way down to the railroad. This will take some time however because they are still winding their way through the goat paths northwest of Sian. Thoughts?

obvert -> RE: Yanks vs. the Limeys - AU TIGER (Allies) Walker84 (Japan) (5/30/2014 10:46:20 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: AU Tiger My other opponent, Skyros, emailed me about possibly invading Indochina from China, and I like the idea. But I would like to ask everybody some advice here. 1) I can peel off some troops from my Southern defensive line around Changsha, maybe 1500-2000 AV's all total and move into Indochina fairly quickly, or 2) I can wait until those troops pulled from Sian can make their way down to the railroad. This will take some time however because they are still winding their way through the goat paths northwest of Sian. Thoughts? I don't like any early Chinese moves toward offense, even if supply seems good right now. That could change quickly. Also, the militia will activate in Indochina if you move in. The Chinese early don't do well against dug in troops offensively, I've found. By the time you would get to Hanoi he could have enough to slow you way down and maybe even land behind to get a nice haul of troops.

Skyros -> RE: Yanks vs. the Limeys - AU TIGER (Allies) Walker84 (Japan) (5/30/2014 11:03:56 PM)
The Vietnamese forces are limited by time. I think during 43 they do not respond, at least I did not run into any when I invaded in my last game.

AU Tiger_MatrixForum -> RE: Yanks vs. the Limeys - AU TIGER (Allies) Walker84 (Japan) (5/30/2014 11:28:24 PM)
All very good points. Thanks Waiting for my opponent to send a turn......

AU Tiger_MatrixForum -> RE: Yanks vs. the Limeys - AU TIGER (Allies) Walker84 (Japan) (6/2/2014 3:16:03 PM)
May 13, 1942 Richard hit Batavia pretty hard with LBA, closing the airfield, but I don't have much there. He has significant forces in Southern Java and is moving inexorably north; there is little I can do to prevent the Island from falling at his leisure. I imagine Sumatra will be next, but a move on Koepang wouldn't surprise me much either. I am working on concentrating 4E bombers in Northern OZ for this eventuality. In Burma the 6th Australian Division, along with three arty units, failed to dislodge the Japanese RTA Div from Burma at 1:2 odds. Although casualties were not heavy, the Japanese took the worst of the exchange. In the meantime I am routing some reinforcements to help dislodge the RTA, but I am keeping an eye on the surrounding hexes for unpleasant surprises as well. This really carries zero strategic importance but I want to keep my opponent guessing as to my intentions. LBA continues to bomb Bataan. The Japanese can take it pretty much anytime they like, but are hanging back for some reason. Again there is no activity at Singapore. Could he have forgotten about it? Now, I have it in my mind to take an offensive action in the Pacific, but am a little undecided on where to go right now. The top three choices are Midway Island, Lunga, and a move into the Gilberts. I am leaning towards the last option because the Gilberts are further from Japanese support than any other location. But I do have some time to think about it because the flattops will be raiding in the West soon, and then will have to be routed back around OZ.

AU Tiger_MatrixForum -> RE: Yanks vs. the Limeys - AU TIGER (Allies) Walker84 (Japan) (6/3/2014 5:13:14 AM)
An Intro From my Opponent This is posted exactly as sent to me via email: "Ward has invited me to send a "Letter of Introduction" for the new AAR he has started, although, for obvious reasons, I won't be allowed to enter the hallowed ground and read this until the war is well and truly over. It was some months ago that Ward and I first made contact, as we both had slow games in progress and were looking to use the extra time in profitable grognarding. I must confess that I was a little in awe of Ward's 'Matrix Veteran' status but as we exchanged thoughts about game tempo, HRs etc it seemed that we were on the same page, pretty much. So far this match has been a rich and rewarding experience (for me) as I have been treated to something of a masterclass in the aggressive-defensive style of early war strategy that an Allied player is capable of - when they know what they are doing. It's no excuse to say that my previous PBEMs as Japan were pretty much played out against Sir Robin defence variants, for example taking Burma with a ragtag body of 15th Army elements previously resembled something akin to the proverbial hot knife through butter. Singers always fell right on cue, with old Sir Perceival still marching in baggy shorts out with the white flag flying . Koepang was a minor speedbump on the voyage to NW Oz. Not against Ward however, oh no - he just had to tear up the script! In short, during the course of this game (we are currently in May '42) I have been wrong-footed several times for underestimating the Allies capabilities, and paid the price for neglecting that sage advice attributed to Confederate general Nathan Bedford Forrest to "get there firstest with the mostest". (Of course, Ward is also a more knowledgeable student of American Civil War strategy and tactics than I). Anyway, little does he suspect but his strategy is playing exactly into my hands right now... "I will force the enemy to take our strength for weakness, and our weakness for strength, and thus will turn his strength into weakness". Shh..don't anyone tell. I do hope you enjoy reading Ward's AAR, and I will endeavour to spice up the action a little to keep him more honest in the coming months. Walker84 Ends" As glowing a recommendation as this is for my playing style, I must admit that I have an advantage with my current early war strategy that I am using as much as possible. Currently, Skyros and I are playing a similar game with a more advanced date of Feb. 43, and I have to admit that things are not going well for the Allies in that universe. Whereas we are engaged in some bloody land combat in Northern Burma / Southern India where I feel I have the upper hand, Skyros has pretty much had his way with me despite some early successes on my part. I am using a similar early war strategy in the game against Walker84 as the other game, but I am using the experiences against Skyros to learn from and apply here. I am sure Skyros will recognize the similarities and differences in the games, and I welcome his, and all other's commentary in this AAR.

AU Tiger_MatrixForum -> RE: Yanks vs. the Limeys - AU TIGER (Allies) Walker84 (Japan) (6/5/2014 4:00:39 AM)
May 16, 1942 Things outside of Java are starting to warm up. The Japanese are finally making a move in China and in Burma. China I have two understrength Chinese corps at Pingsiang who were dug in at fort level 3, but will be soon evicted by three Japanese divisions with various support units. I decided to defend this hex because of the 120 resources there, hoping some will be damaged when the Chinese are kicked out. We have agreed to no city bombing in China until 1944, so this is the only real way I have to do some scorched earth. Last turn, four understrength squadrons of Chinese fighters, based from Changsha, flying H81-A3's ambushed Sallys and Lilys attacking Pingsiang before some Zeros showed up to defend them. This turn Zeros and Oscars swept the hex, sending the Chinese pilots scurrying for home. Burma Richard is finally making a move on Burma through the goat trails to the east of Pegu. I might have spurred this on with my abortive attacks on the RCA Division, which have been called off. There were some interesting air battles over that hex where I swept it with two squadrons of the AVG with an assist from some British Hurricanes. I have plenty of forces (I think) in the area to deal with these incursions, but we shall see. Koepang For some odd reason Richard sent some Sally's over Koepang at 7000 feet, giving the multitude of AAA some much appreciated target practice. Aircraft losses over the past two days: Oscar 26 Sally 34 Zero 24 Lily 17 H81-A2 11 P-39D 26 P-40E 17 [image]local://upfiles/22511/D7BB10CA6DC942DEA44CB860E1C60FFD.jpg[/image]

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