|
AW1Steve -> RE: "SIr Robin" Ethimology (1/8/2017 6:11:42 PM)
|
I for one feel the need to take exception to the animosity of the JFB's who came up with the taunt "Brave sir Robin". Here's why: I once did ma study of all of the allied forces versus all of the available Japanese forces in the Pacific , and found that with the exception of air craft carriers , the allies SHOULD have been able to slow the Japanese assault to a crawl. Please notice the operative word SHOULD. That's with numbers alone. Quality , well that's another matter. Japanese NAVAL pilots , and aircraft generally had the edge on allied. The IJAAF and ground troops , not so much.
So why did the allies perform so badly? Quite simply , their forces were arrayed as colonial police forces. They were more afraid of their native populations than the Japanese (ESPECIALLY the Dutch). In essence , they were configured in just about the worst possible array to fight invasion as was possible. And many of those troops were colonial , or 2nd rate European troops. Untrained pilots , and troops. Troops that had not srved in the jungle , faced modern weapons or worst of all, armor.
Ships were scattered also for colonial duties , and "showing the flag". The bulk of those ships were older , unmodernized warships considered "unfit for European waters". Planes were whatever could be purchased from available stocks , with the best aircraft and pilots sent to Europe.
All of these resources needed to be reassembled into usable and sizable units , combined , trained and intelligently lead. That means a withdrawal, retreat , regroup, re-organization. Or you can leave them scattered , in small pockets , unsupplied and cutoff. In other words, left to die.
I collect as a hobby books of this period that deal with strategy , military theory and analysis of Sea power in the Pacific. The American books tend to consist of two theories. 1) we can not hold the Philippines , and need to grant them independence as soon as possible so we can reduce our presence and forces there. and 2) The Japanese can't fight their way out of a wet paper bag and we have no reason to fear them. USN Naval officers were divided with 3/4 believing the former and 1/4 the latter. Both Admiral Hart and Richardson DEFINATLEY felt the former , and did everything they could to pare down the Asiatic fleet , remove the Marines ,dependents and gunboats from China , and dependents from the PI. That's a pretty good endorsement of the "Sir Robin" strategy. And considering that until 1943 there really wasn't very much new construction in the Pacific, that means Coral Sea , Midway , Guadalcanal and the New Georgia campaign were fought pretty much with entirely pre-war ships.
USS America (Mike Floyd) followed the theory popular with todays US Army of "Embrace the suck" , and asked the "Magnificent Dixie" to come up with the "Brave Sir Robin Fan boy" banner and the rest is history. In other words , fight where you can , delay, redeploy and remove the units you need later. Or "Don't eat your seed corn".
I personally follow a variation of "Sir Robin". I call it "Vampire Chicken". Lay traps , minefields , and ambushes. Use good defensive ground as much as you can. Sacrifice colonial troops , or those that can't removed (or are not worth the risk of ships). Anything Modern in shipping that can be upgraded needs to be pulled back. Outdated ships , planes and "already dead" (can't be withdrawn) go down fighting. All you can do is pull them back , regroup , update and retrain them. Aircraft should be left fighting till their numbers are too small to matter , then withdraw the few survivors to regroup and train.
IF you can save these units , and send forward new units , you can start the re-conquest sooner. The more you save , the sooner you can start your return. As Churchill said. "Some chicken. Some neck".
So as trash talk goes , "Sir Robin" is excellent. But if a Japanese player some how feels (and I've met a few who did) that "Sir Robin" is unmanly , or somehow "gamey" , I have too ask "how poor is a General/Admiral that can't deal with a retreating/regrouping enemy?". What do you want , the AFB to open his seacocks or line up and advance his ships shooting gallery style? :)
|
|
|
|
