DeadInThrench
Posts: 318
Joined: 12/27/2006
From: NE Pennsylvania, USA
Status: offline
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(Not sure if I should post this here, most of the posts here are on PBEM games, but, whatever.)
I have played Double Eagle - Rising Sun (the Russo-Japanese War scenario) out to about turn 25, where I had achieved an overwhelming victory as the Japanese. I hadn't taken Mukden and could have continued but didn't see the point since I had the overwhelming victory, so stopped at that point.
Anyways, a number of comments.
1. There's the naval campaign and I played the first couple of turns out many times to get a handle on the naval side of TOAW. Ultimately, you can get Elmer to get to sail his Port Arthur fleet out of the port and destroy it using the 'attack with just one ship and let the rest of the navy support it' tactic. I then used this same tactic on the rest of the Russian Pacific fleet, destroying it completely while just losing 4 destroyers total.
Historically, both sides lost two battleships due to mine warfare, while otherwise there was little losses due to surface combat. Instead, most of the Port Arthur fleet was destroyed by land artillery during the siege of Port Arthur.
Hmmm... let me just say that it is a long way from what happenned in my game to what happenned historically, but TOAW makes no calms about it not being a great naval simulation.
Just, please someone tell me, WHY do I have to move each naval unit individually?? <g>
2. After the naval deal the next step was invading Korea and I did that... kinda neat to start with because all ports are frozen over except Pusan (which you own at start), Chemulpo (near Soul), Vladivostock and Port Arthur (with the latter two impossible due to costal artillery and the like). So, this means landing at Chemulpo and going from there, and that was all fine. Then, come spring time, the ice mets and all of a sudden all the ports up and down both coasts are unblocked and you find that Elmer (and the PO) has units in some of them but not in others. So, you can make unopposed landings on each coast completely out flanking the Russians.
Historically, I believe this happenned (but, I am not an expert), but not quite so early and not to such an extent. The Japanese had to fight their way north and then cross the Yalu River. Going from there to Port Arthur they made various landings. For me, I landed unopposed at the port at the mouth of the Yalu, and the port south of that, and the northmost port on the eastern coast south of Vladivostock, all on the turn that the ports unfroze.
Hmmm... hard to say on this one. Historically this might not be that far off but, I don't believe a human player would make the same mistake. Maybe scenarios should have historical POs and POs that represent intelligent play when that was not there historically.
Also, the PO does not allow one to assign units individually to go to certain hexes. So, there is some challange in getting units to move into and garrison the various ports along the coast, not sure it can be done, although the Russians were in two ports along the east coast (but left ports open both north and south).
3. The Japanese get this guerrilla unit near Vladivostock, and Elmer attacked it breaking it into 3 companies. So, I then went wandering around with those companies, made it to Usserjisk (the Russian supply and rail link to Vlad), and it was unoccupied and so I waltzed in and occupied. The Russians came after me in there, but I had another company move to put Vlad out of supply. I did this and then, what the heck moved it adjacent and sheesh, Elmer had just the coastal artillery in there so I took that out with the guerrilla company and immediately transported in infantry units from Japan. In short, all over for the Russians in Vlad.
Hmmm.... IMO, some PO work needed here. Probably the Vlad garrison should be defined as garrison and should stay put, with other units being assigned to defend Usserjisk.
4. There are 3 ports along the peninsula north of Port Arthur, and Elmer had units in the southmost of these but the other two, one on either side the 3 hex wide peninsula, were unoccupied. So, waltzed in shortly after the ports unfozed, entrenched three units across the peninsula, sealing it off from relief, and then proceeded south with more units, including seige artillery.
When I just reached Port Arthur, Elmer moved his units around and left JUST artillery in the middle PA square, and THAT was the one with the supply source. So, I took that and from there it was downhill fast for the Russians. This was in the May time frame and historically PA did not fall unti the beginning of the next year.
Hmmm.... don't know if the Russians defended those two ports historically, but after landing at various ports along the coast, the Japanese reached Port Arthur by land.
Maybe the supply through those ports should be looked at I dunno. Also, probably all three PA hexes should be Russian supply sources. Maybe some other changes to the PO there I dunno.
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At this point the game was over, with both Vlad and PA in hand, I had the overwhelming victory.
IMO, there is some concern about the Russians defending the various ports up and down the coasts, a reasonably good human player would IMO, but even given this the game was going smoothly up until the Vlad and PA debacles for the Russians.
So, maybe some PO improvements here would improve the longer term viability of Elmer's Russian play.
Otherwise, a great scenario and don't know if I could get anything approaching it in any other game.
DiT
< Message edited by DeadInThrench -- 12/4/2007 9:53:35 PM >
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