RE: March 29/42 Update

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RE: March 29/42 Update - 8/31/2014 9:02:58 PM

crsutton

Posts: 9590
Joined: 12/6/2002
From: Maryland
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: SqzMyLemon

quote:

ORIGINAL: Lokasenna

Check yours and see if you got any. Not all will make it off the ship, of course, but it's better than 100% losses.

I forgot to check this last turn. I'm kicking myself for not getting those pilots into my pools before she sank. Thanks for letting me know the possibility of some being saved.

You will get virtually all of them (pilots) back eventually. At this stage it is the loss of the aircraft that hurts.

I think that as the Allied player I pretty much welcome an invasion of India. I have become convinced that unless the Japanese player is going for auto victory that moving into Inda is a mistake. I know it looks gloomy in April 42 but the Indian army just gets stronger as time passes. As you mentioned it is a favor for him to allow an attrition battle on another front with many units that will never be allowed out of India due to the PP costs. The big issue in my mind is that the great expenditure of fuel and supply is not sustainable by the Japanese player. They are forced to grind it out in China and to accept another theater where they have to grind will bankrupt the Japanese economy later in the war. Even in the most optimum conditions Japanese fuel stocks are a finite resource. I just start sending American air and tank units, and Australian tank units to India right away. The Australian tank regiments are really the first Allied units to get first class upgrades and India is perfect tank terrain. If Australia is not threatened, why not send them all?

_____________________________

I am the Holy Roman Emperor and am above grammar.

Sigismund of Luxemburg

(in reply to SqzMyLemon)

Post #: 211

RE: March 29/42 Update - 9/15/2014 9:41:43 PM

SqzMyLemon

Posts: 4239
Joined: 10/30/2009
From: Alberta, Canada
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: crsutton

I think that as the Allied player I pretty much welcome an invasion of India. I have become convinced that unless the Japanese player is going for auto victory that moving into Inda is a mistake.

I can only hope that you are right.

_____________________________

Luck is the residue of design - John Milton

Don't mistake lack of talent for genius - Peter Steele (Type O Negative)

(in reply to crsutton)

Post #: 212

April 9/42 Update - 9/15/2014 10:26:52 PM

SqzMyLemon

Posts: 4239
Joined: 10/30/2009
From: Alberta, Canada
Status: offline

The pace of the game has slowed right down again. The last turn from Andre was received on the 11th.

I thought I would update India in the meantime. My plan is to contain the Japanese along the coast and prevent a major penetration inland. SigInt indicates Japanese 15th Army HQ, currently on Ceylon, is prepping for Madras. I believe once Ceylon is secured the majority of the Japanese forces will be committed to the Indian Sub-continent.

I've committed the majority of available forces to securing Bezwada and preventing a move on Hyderabad. The 23rd Indian Division, supported by the 50th Tank Brigade, held Bezwada against assault on 6 April 42. American 4E's were committed to tactical ground support and severely disrupted enemy forces prior to the attack. The adjusted assault odds clearly reflect how effective the bombers were. AAR follows:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Bezwada (39,36)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 17335 troops, 181 guns, 87 vehicles, Assault Value = 582

Defending force 8648 troops, 126 guns, 197 vehicles, Assault Value = 402

Japanese adjusted assault: 118

Allied adjusted defense: 989

Japanese assault odds: 1 to 8 (fort level 3)

Combat modifiers
Defender: forts(+), leaders(+), preparation(-), experience(-)
Attacker: disruption(-)

Japanese ground losses:
748 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 75 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 10 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 7 disabled

Allied ground losses:
336 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 53 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled

Assaulting units:
16th Guards Regiment
2nd Division
5th Guards Cav Regiment

Defending units:
50th Tank Brigade
23rd Indian Division

Bezwada will be reinforced by 26th Indian Division, 7th Australian Division, 193rd Tank Bn. and 85th British AT Rgt. next turn. Allied 4E's will again support with ground bombing prior to a Commonwealth deliberate attack.

In the east, the Japanese 5th Tank Rgt. appears to be moving towards Jamshedpur while an unknown unit has railed to Cuttack. My guess is this is the Japanese 90th Infantry Rgt. Blenheim's based at Calcutta are targeting Cuttack to destroy the level 1 airbase and supply. Unless Andre reinforces further, I should have enough forces on hand to move on Cuttack. 18th British Division and 254th Armoured Bde. are located at Jamshedpur and will be reinforced by 6th Australian Division. Howrah is garrisoned by 1st Burma Division. 7th Armoured Bde. is moving to secure Sambalpur.

So far, Allied air has been effective against minimal Japanese interdiction. However, Zero sweeps from Jaffna and LRCAP based at Vizagapatnum will start to allow the Japanese to have more influence in the theatre.

I need to act quickly to take advantage of Andre's deployment on India proper. His forces are spread out and could be defeated in detail, providing I act before additional Japanese reinforcements arrive. I will try to avoid operating along the coast as much as possible because of the threat from naval bombardment, however, the 44th Cavalry Rgt. is moving to cut the railway and isolate Cuttack from further reinforcement. Commonwealth forces are still weak, but gaining in strength daily. I have adequate air units in place and despite the low experience, are proving effective at the moment. Everything will hinge on denying Andre establishing local air superiority to allow my forces freedom of movement while denying him the same.

Tick, tick. tick though. Once Ceylon falls there will be another three Japanese divisions available for operations in India which will make the Allied position that much more difficult. Fun times...

Attachment (1)

< Message edited by SqzMyLemon -- 9/15/2014 11:27:47 PM >

_____________________________

Luck is the residue of design - John Milton

Don't mistake lack of talent for genius - Peter Steele (Type O Negative)

(in reply to SqzMyLemon)

Post #: 213

April 10/42 Update - 9/17/2014 1:07:17 AM

SqzMyLemon

Posts: 4239
Joined: 10/30/2009
From: Alberta, Canada
Status: offline

Great news in India. Andre launches a deliberate attack against Bezwada just as 7th Australian Division arrives. British Blenheim's soften up the attackers prior to the assault causing further disruption. Over 200 enemy infantry squads are disabled which will weaken this force significantly. AAR follows:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Bezwada (39,36)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 16768 troops, 181 guns, 89 vehicles, Assault Value = 541

Defending force 23564 troops, 354 guns, 615 vehicles, Assault Value = 864

Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 2

Japanese adjusted assault: 90

Allied adjusted defense: 874

Japanese assault odds: 1 to 9 (fort level 2)

Combat modifiers
Defender: forts(+), preparation(-), experience(-)
Attacker: disruption(-)

Japanese ground losses:
2450 casualties reported
Squads: 8 destroyed, 203 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 22 disabled
Engineers: 3 destroyed, 18 disabled
Guns lost 30 (1 destroyed, 29 disabled)
Vehicles lost 19 (2 destroyed, 17 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
91 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 11 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 5 (1 destroyed, 4 disabled)

Assaulting units:
2nd Division
16th Guards Regiment
5th Guards Cav Regiment

Defending units:
50th Tank Brigade
7th Australian Division
23rd Indian Division
85th British AT Gun Regiment

Japanese reinforcements are spotted moving towards Bezwada, so I've ordered a deliberate attack for next turn to try and rout the Japanese. Allied bombers are ordered to target both Bezwada and the approaching Japanese forces. I miscalculated the movement of both 193rd Tank Bn. and 26th Indian Division so they haven't reached the base yet. Considering the situation, it may be best they didn't as they can reinforce Bezwada if my attack fails to dislodge the Japanese. I expect to see Japanese LRCAP over Bezwada, so Allied air units may take some casualties.

_____________________________

Luck is the residue of design - John Milton

Don't mistake lack of talent for genius - Peter Steele (Type O Negative)

(in reply to SqzMyLemon)

Post #: 214

April 11/42 Update - 9/19/2014 5:03:11 AM

SqzMyLemon

Posts: 4239
Joined: 10/30/2009
From: Alberta, Canada
Status: offline

An Allied victory in India. Commonwealth forces successfully defeat the Japanese forces contesting Bezwada. AAR follows:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Bezwada (39,36)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 23560 troops, 354 guns, 618 vehicles, Assault Value = 918

Defending force 14724 troops, 180 guns, 86 vehicles, Assault Value = 341

Allied adjusted assault: 533

Japanese adjusted defense: 40

Allied assault odds: 13 to 1

Combat modifiers
Defender: leaders(+), disruption(-), preparation(-), fatigue(-)
experience(-)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
4499 casualties reported
Squads: 163 destroyed, 26 disabled
Non Combat: 178 destroyed, 27 disabled
Engineers: 18 destroyed, 11 disabled
Guns lost 31 (16 destroyed, 15 disabled)
Vehicles lost 14 (8 destroyed, 6 disabled)
Units retreated 3

Allied ground losses:
157 casualties reported
Squads: 3 destroyed, 33 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 6 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 8 disabled
Guns lost 9 (1 destroyed, 8 disabled)
Vehicles lost 12 (3 destroyed, 9 disabled)

Defeated Japanese Units Retreating!

Assaulting units:
193rd Tank Battalion
50th Tank Brigade
7th Australian Division
23rd Indian Division
85th British AT Gun Regiment

Defending units:
2nd Division
16th Guards Regiment
5th Guards Cav Regiment

A number of air actions over Cuttack this turn. Japanese LRCAP based at Vizagapatnam tries to interdict British bombers targeting Cuttack, but a sweep by Hurricane IIa's performs well and downs a number of Oscar Ic's prior to any bombing missions. On the day intel shows seven Oscar's lost versus three Hurricanes. Two British fighter pilots are MIA though.

British fighter-bombers then target the Japanese 5th Amphibious Bde. Despite four Oscar's on LRCAP, no Fulmar's are lost and the enemy force receive over 100 casualties from the strafing attack.

The final Allied raid of the day encounters no LRCAP and 75 Blenheim's hammer the airbase. Damage to the airbase is now shown at 75% and will be un-operational soon.

Thoughts:

With Bezwada secure in the short term, I'm shifting LCU's for a defence of Madras and nearby bases. I will not follow up with an attack against Cocanada at this time. My priority is the defence of Madras.

The Japanese 5th Tank Regt. has reached the hex directly southwest of Jamshedpur. 6th Australian, 18th British and 254th Armoured Bde. are moving to engage the enemy tanks. I intend on a full blown offensive to liberate Cuttack and secure Calcutta's flank. Japanese forces are moving against Chittagong which I will concede. This will mean Japanese air units will begin contesting Calcutta's airspace, but I feel confident I can make it costly for Andre to do so. If I can capture Cuttack quickly, I'll redeploy LCU's to contest any Japanese advance beyond Chittagong.

The loss of Ceylon will mean I can expect to see Japanese naval forces roaming free along the entire coast of India preventing further risk free Allied reinforcement of India via Aden and Capetown. I'm not sure how I intend to counter, or if I will risk CV's. The priority right now is get more aviation support and supply to India. I'm slowly reinforcing Diego Garcia, but I fear Andre will attempt to secure the base and my current defence won't be strong enough to hold.

The victory at Bezwada was a definite morale boost, but once Ceylon is completely in Japanese hands the Allied position could deteriorate quickly.

VP's currently sit at 16000 (J) vs. 5600 (A). India could become the vital theatre that determines a Japanese AV. Knowing this, I think Andre will shift KB to the IO. If he does so, I will move in the Pacific and possibly the DEI to relieve some pressure. The time to start using my naval forces is upon me.

< Message edited by SqzMyLemon -- 9/19/2014 6:04:56 AM >

_____________________________

Luck is the residue of design - John Milton

Don't mistake lack of talent for genius - Peter Steele (Type O Negative)

(in reply to SqzMyLemon)

Post #: 215

RE: April 11/42 Update - 9/19/2014 5:20:31 AM

GreyJoy

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Joined: 3/18/2011
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Great victory in India!
never a wise move to let japanese LCUs got caught in the open without a single AA unit with them.
Andre is being a bit lazy in his Indian adventure so far... make him pay for that!

(in reply to SqzMyLemon)

Post #: 216

RE: April 11/42 Update - 9/19/2014 3:40:00 PM

SqzMyLemon

Posts: 4239
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From: Alberta, Canada
Status: offline

Thanks for posting Nic! I was getting lonely in here.

Early days yet. I think Andre is just waiting to consolidate Ceylon before he turns up the heat. Andre has not committed much of his air force yet and Ceylon will allow him to dominate the southern tip of India. I'm positive Madras will be the next goal and I must prevent losing the base, or at least make it costly to capture.

I may regret not defending at Chittagong, but I think it will be too vulnerable to naval bombardment and turn into an air attrition campaign for Andre. I'm trying to get Andre to extend himself anyway so a free Chittagong may encourage him to do so.

The good thing about the battle for Bezwada was the experience gain for the 23rd Indian Division, it's now at 53.

Glad to see you following along.

_____________________________

Luck is the residue of design - John Milton

Don't mistake lack of talent for genius - Peter Steele (Type O Negative)

(in reply to GreyJoy)

Post #: 217

RE: April 11/42 Update - 9/19/2014 4:12:12 PM

Lokasenna

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From: Iowan in MD/DC
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You get any of those pilots back?

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Post #: 218

RE: April 11/42 Update - 9/19/2014 7:23:54 PM

Capt. Harlock

Posts: 5358
Joined: 9/15/2001
From: Los Angeles
Status: offline

quote:

VP's currently sit at 16000 (J) vs. 5600 (A). India could become the vital theatre that determines a Japanese AV.

That is a concern. What's the game date?

_____________________________

Civil war? What does that mean? Is there any foreign war? Isn't every war fought between men, between brothers?

--Victor Hugo

(in reply to SqzMyLemon)

Post #: 219

RE: April 11/42 Update - 9/19/2014 8:01:24 PM

SqzMyLemon

Posts: 4239
Joined: 10/30/2009
From: Alberta, Canada
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Capt. Harlock

quote:

VP's currently sit at 16000 (J) vs. 5600 (A). India could become the vital theatre that determines a Japanese AV.

That is a concern. What's the game date?

It certainly is. Game date is April 12/42. Japan holds Pago Pago, Fiji and New Caledonia in the Pacific and Ceylon in the IO. No landings in the Aleutians or Australia as yet. Bataan still has to fall in the Philippines so that will be another large VP haul. China is static at the moment, but once supply is out large numbers of Chinese LCU VP's will start to add up. There has been little air combat to date, but that is ramping up now that India is the playing field. I think I can start to make VP gains in the air and Andre does have to achieve a 4:1 ratio to come out ahead, so there is an opportunity to eat into his VP lead.

I've not been very active naval wise yet. Most of the Allied naval forces are conducting their 4/42 upgrades. Once these are complete I will be in a position to look for opportunities to strike at Japanese naval assets. I'm more of a reactive player, but won't move until I'm ready. The Allied side is fairly new to me and now that I have a better understanding of their early capabilities (or lack thereof), I'd definitely do things differently. It's been a learning curve for me too, but I'm confident I'll come up with something to avoid AV. If not, lesson learned.

< Message edited by SqzMyLemon -- 9/19/2014 11:07:05 PM >

_____________________________

Luck is the residue of design - John Milton

Don't mistake lack of talent for genius - Peter Steele (Type O Negative)

(in reply to Capt. Harlock)

Post #: 220

RE: April 11/42 Update - 9/19/2014 8:03:14 PM

SqzMyLemon

Posts: 4239
Joined: 10/30/2009
From: Alberta, Canada
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Lokasenna

You get any of those pilots back?

No idea. I'm not using tracker this game, but will check my pools to see if I have a bunch of experienced pilots. I'd actually forgotten to check earlier, thanks for the reminder.

_____________________________

Luck is the residue of design - John Milton

Don't mistake lack of talent for genius - Peter Steele (Type O Negative)

(in reply to Lokasenna)

Post #: 221

RE: April 11/42 Update - 9/20/2014 6:48:12 PM

obvert

Posts: 14050
Joined: 1/17/2011
From: PDX (and now) London, UK
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quote:

ORIGINAL: SqzMyLemon

quote:

ORIGINAL: Capt. Harlock

quote:

VP's currently sit at 16000 (J) vs. 5600 (A). India could become the vital theatre that determines a Japanese AV.

That is a concern. What's the game date?

It certainly is. Game date is April 12/42. Japan holds Pago Pago, Fiji and New Caledonia in the Pacific and Ceylon in the IO. No landings in the Aleutians or Australia as yet. Bataan still has to fall in the Philippines so that will be another large VP haul. China is static at the moment, but once supply is out large numbers of Chinese LCU VP's will start to add up. There has been little air combat to date, but that is ramping up now that India is the playing field. I think I can start to make VP gains in the air and Andre does have to achieve a 4:1 ratio to come out ahead, so there is an opportunity to eat into his VP lead.

I've not been very active naval wise yet. Most of the Allied naval forces are conducting their 4/42 upgrades. Once these are complete I will be in a position to look for opportunities to strike at Japanese naval assets. I'm more of a reactive player, but won't move until I'm ready. The Allied side is fairly new to me and now that I have a better understanding of their early capabilities (or lack thereof), I'd definitely do things differently. It's been a learning curve for me too, but I'm confident I'll come up with something to avoid AV. If not, lesson learned.

Hey Joseph. I too was fretting a lot at this point about AV. Of course GJ had already invaded India and taken half of it!!

The best thing you can do is to build everything! You'll start catching up quickly once the air war heats up and your engineers start flowing in. If it's close near the end those South Pacific big point islands will be vulnerable. The navy can wait until then when you'l need it!

_____________________________

"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm." - Winston Churchill

(in reply to SqzMyLemon)

Post #: 222

April 12/42 Update - 9/21/2014 4:48:04 PM

SqzMyLemon

Posts: 4239
Joined: 10/30/2009
From: Alberta, Canada
Status: offline

Be careful what you ask for.

Recon of the Japanese positions along the coast of India shows there are now 17 units in theatre. As much as I wanted Andre to have to reinforce India, that reality is frightening considering what little I currently have available to counter. SigInt indicates another Japanese division, the 48th, is being committed to India as well as an AF construction unit. Even more units are indicated deploying to Rangoon. It appears Andre's operation in India may be bigger than I first imagined and it looks like I haven't seen anything yet.

I am glad I did not commit heavily to Ceylon as the rest of India would be completely defenseless in light of the Japanese commitment to this theatre.

On a positive note, I had set up a number of CAP missions in China which were successful today. Unescorted Japanese bombers were interdicted over Wenchow and near Kungchang. Numerous Sonia and Sally bombers were shot down for no Allied losses. On the day, including other Ops losses, the Japanese lose 20 aircraft against none for the Allies.

The actual VP numbers right now stand at 16137 (J) vs. 5715 (A).

_____________________________

Luck is the residue of design - John Milton

Don't mistake lack of talent for genius - Peter Steele (Type O Negative)

(in reply to obvert)

Post #: 223

RE: April 11/42 Update - 9/21/2014 4:54:47 PM

SqzMyLemon

Posts: 4239
Joined: 10/30/2009
From: Alberta, Canada
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: obvert

The best thing you can do is to build everything! You'll start catching up quickly once the air war heats up and your engineers start flowing in. If it's close near the end those South Pacific big point islands will be vulnerable. The navy can wait until then when you'l need it!

Everything that can be expanded is currently doing so. I'll begin to probe in the Pacific to gage the Japanese reaction and see if I can interdict as few Japanese merchant TF's. My submarines have been withdrawn for their 4/42 upgrades and upon completion they'll resume patrols. The Allied navy needs to locate KB so I can assess my options.

< Message edited by SqzMyLemon -- 9/21/2014 5:55:56 PM >

_____________________________

Luck is the residue of design - John Milton

Don't mistake lack of talent for genius - Peter Steele (Type O Negative)

(in reply to obvert)

Post #: 224

Is it time to panic? - 9/30/2014 5:07:04 AM

SqzMyLemon

Posts: 4239
Joined: 10/30/2009
From: Alberta, Canada
Status: offline

Dark days for the Allies.

Changsha falls 15 April 42. AAR follows:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Changsha (82,52)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 114626 troops, 1081 guns, 237 vehicles, Assault Value = 3700

Defending force 27645 troops, 221 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 501

Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 1

Japanese adjusted assault: 4078

Allied adjusted defense: 459

Japanese assault odds: 8 to 1 (fort level 1)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Changsha !!!

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), leaders(+), experience(-)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
1607 casualties reported
Squads: 2 destroyed, 127 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 19 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 16 disabled
Vehicles lost 18 (2 destroyed, 16 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
11670 casualties reported
Squads: 609 destroyed, 48 disabled
Non Combat: 513 destroyed, 105 disabled
Engineers: 65 destroyed, 5 disabled
Guns lost 95 (66 destroyed, 29 disabled)
Units retreated 8

Defeated Allied Units Retreating!

Assaulting units:
4th Ind.Mixed Regiment
13th Tank Regiment
58th Division
40th Division
13th Division
59th Division
17th Division
60th Division
63rd Division
51st Engineer Regiment
39th Division
68th Division
3rd Division
11th RGC Temp. Division
1st Mortar Battalion
51st Ind.Mtn.Gun Battalion
15th Ind.Medium Field Artillery Regiment
2nd Hvy.Artillery Regiment
4th Mortar Battalion
11th Army
14th Medium Field Artillery Regiment
2nd Ind. Mountain Gun Regiment
5th RF Gun Battalion

Defending units:
26th Chinese Corps
72nd Chinese Corps
58th Chinese Corps
10th Chinese Corps
78th Chinese Corps
30th Group Army
29th Group Army
17th Chinese Base Force

Chittagong falls 16 APril 42. AAR follows:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Chittagong (55,41)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 14621 troops, 146 guns, 59 vehicles, Assault Value = 527

Defending force 4258 troops, 43 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 70

Japanese adjusted assault: 377

Allied adjusted defense: 55

Japanese assault odds: 6 to 1 (fort level 3)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Chittagong !!!

Combat modifiers
Defender: forts(+), morale(-), experience(-)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
304 casualties reported
Squads: 2 destroyed, 18 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled

Allied ground losses:
4199 casualties reported
Squads: 75 destroyed, 9 disabled
Non Combat: 292 destroyed, 7 disabled
Engineers: 29 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 31 (31 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units retreated 1
Units destroyed 1

Defeated Allied Units Retreating!

Assaulting units:
Imperial Guards Division
Yokosuka 2nd SNLF
1st RF Gun Battalion

Defending units:
6/18th Royal Garwal Battalion
Chittagong Fortress

Colombo falls 17 April 42. AAR follows:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Colombo (29,48)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 44540 troops, 424 guns, 555 vehicles, Assault Value = 1477

Defending force 13582 troops, 157 guns, 102 vehicles, Assault Value = 109

Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 2

Japanese adjusted assault: 698

Allied adjusted defense: 117

Japanese assault odds: 5 to 1 (fort level 2)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Colombo !!!

Combat modifiers
Defender: leaders(-), fatigue(-), experience(-)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
749 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 17 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 9 disabled
Engineers: 2 destroyed, 52 disabled
Vehicles lost 56 (13 destroyed, 43 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
10574 casualties reported
Squads: 270 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 855 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 89 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 160 (160 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Vehicles lost 140 (140 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units destroyed 9

Assaulting units:
23rd Ind. Engineer Regiment
4th Ind. Engineer Regiment
1st Tank Regiment
4th Tank Regiment
Sasebo 3rd SNLF
15th Ind. Engineer Regiment
41st Infantry Regiment
38th Division
7th Tank Regiment
5th Division
20th Ind. Engineer Regiment
14th Guards Regiment
1st Hvy.Artillery Regiment
2nd Mortar Battalion
9th Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion
2nd Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion
54th Const Co

Defending units:
Colombo Fortress
100th Indian Brigade
98th Indian Brigade
22nd Light AA Regiment
Ceylon Base Force
Ceylon Command
222 Group RAF
2nd Ceylon H AA Regiment
Eastern Fleet /2

Allied squad and device losses are staggering, not to mention the base VP's. The VP ratio is now 17801 vs. 5721 for the bad guys. Is it really this easy for Japan? Andre is quite confident that AV will be achievable, especially considering Bataan hasn't fallen yet and the veritable buffet of VP's that is China. If I had reinforced Ceylon or committed the British Fleet I can only imagine the VP ratio would be even higher in Japan's favour.

Andre is away for a week, so I have plenty of time to think on how to proceed before I submit the next turn. I'm obviously going to have to risk a major operation against a major VP target to avoid losing a 1942 AV. The only options I can see is to liberate Ceylon or a South Pacific campaign against Fiji and New Caledonia. I don't see enough VP's elsewhere.

Andre hints at harvesting even more VP's from India yet, providing I co-operate

. I tend to take the jest seriously. He's looking to bag large numbers of Commonwealth VP's and I think he'll commit whatever it takes to achieve that goal. I'm sure KB is waiting in ambush for a desperate Allied move in the Pacific. Right now my options appear limited and it's going to get a lot worse before there's even a chance to turn this around.

Dark days indeed...

< Message edited by SqzMyLemon -- 9/30/2014 6:08:36 AM >

_____________________________

Luck is the residue of design - John Milton

Don't mistake lack of talent for genius - Peter Steele (Type O Negative)

(in reply to crsutton)

Post #: 225

RE: Is it time to panic? - 9/30/2014 5:28:41 AM

witpqs

Posts: 26087
Joined: 10/4/2004
From: Argleton
Status: offline

1) Don't panic.

2) Always bring a towel.

Of course, if you forgot your towel, panic!

You could remember the advice of Josey Wales: it's time to get mad-dog mean!

You are still in the phase where there is a very high level of difficulty in winning a stand up fight. But auto victory is not triggered until January 1, 1943 no matter where the VP ratio stands. Bide your time, strike a little here and there as you can. Make him pay where you can on defense, save what you can where you can't make him pay. Most of all, sit down with the map and your best understanding of what is where, and start making long term plans. Having multiple plans is good, because enemy dispositions or other circumstances might cause you to have to switch plans and it's better to have a actual alternate plan ready to go (as opposed to only improvising, although improvising is always part of execution anyway).

_____________________________

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(in reply to SqzMyLemon)

Post #: 226

RE: Is it time to panic? - 9/30/2014 1:44:56 PM

Richard III

Posts: 710
Joined: 10/24/2005
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quote:

ORIGINAL: SqzMyLemon

Dark days for the Allies.

Changsha falls 15 April 42. AAR follows:

Is it really this easy for Japan? Andre is quite confident that AV will be achievable, Dark days indeed...

Perhaps in the early game for one of the legendary JFB`s.

Still thinking back on the Rader vs newbie Greyjoy game, Nic pulled it out in the end. ( and Rader knew the Japanese Game as well as anybody.)

He still has to ship the oil back to the HI.
JFB anti- sub still sinks.
I doubt even Andre can stop massed low level B-29 night attacks.
Even he can`t make KB appear in two places at once.

But I`m still glad it`s you playing him and not me..

.

_____________________________

�History would be a wonderful thing � if it were only true.�

� Leo Tolstoy

(in reply to SqzMyLemon)

Post #: 227

RE: Is it time to panic? - 9/30/2014 3:49:12 PM

Lecivius

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From: Denver
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B 29's won't come into play in time to stave off an AV.

Hang in there, and build like mad. If he's pushing this hard here, he ain't elsewhere

Does he have all of Asia garrisoned, or would some low value unit be able to sneak behind the lines? The Aleutians? Etc. Etc. Etc.

(in reply to Richard III)

Post #: 228

RE: Is it time to panic? - 9/30/2014 4:25:02 PM

JocMeister

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Joined: 7/29/2009
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Heh, told you the allied side wasn�t such a walk in the park...

But yeah, China is a walk in the park for the Chinese. This throws the whole AV balance out of whack and instead of becoming very hard it becomes quite doable. In a sense it might actually out of your hands but there are some things that helps.

Don�t want to give too much away here so I�ll drop you a PM later tonight or tomorrow evening.

< Message edited by JocMeister -- 9/30/2014 5:32:13 PM >

(in reply to Lecivius)

Post #: 229

RE: Is it time to panic? - 9/30/2014 4:48:41 PM

Lokasenna

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quote:

ORIGINAL: JocMeister

Heh, told you the allied side wasn�t such a walk in the park...

But yeah, China is a walk in the park for the Chinese. This throws the whole AV balance out of whack and instead of becoming very hard it becomes quite doable. In a sense it might actually out of your hands but there are some things that helps.

Don�t want to give too much away here so I�ll drop you a PM later tonight or tomorrow evening.

I really don't think this is the case. Note that in my game, VPs never hit 3:1 during 1942, despite my loss of China. True, I didn't lose all of the troops, but the major difference is in my VP total - not the IJ VP total. You need to fight back. Even if you trade at 1.5 or 2 to 1 in his favor, it's a short term win for you. You just need to survive to the point where you're able to invade somewhere and bag lots of VPs in one go.

Don't be afraid to lose some assets, just make sure he loses some also. You get more - by and large, with the exception of airframes, he doesn't get any more. Go ahead and trade 50 planes to sink a CA, for example - that's near a 1:1 trade on VPs, and he only gets about 12 of those.

You need more VPs. If he's pushing into India, he can't defend Noumea. If he's defending Noumea, he can't defend Ceylon. Find those big vulnerable VP banks and make plans to take them in the autumn when you've got some more toys.

Beat that drum!

(in reply to JocMeister)

Post #: 230

RE: Is it time to panic? - 9/30/2014 6:59:52 PM

SqzMyLemon

Posts: 4239
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quote:

ORIGINAL: Lokasenna

Don't be afraid to lose some assets, just make sure he loses some also. You get more - by and large, with the exception of airframes, he doesn't get any more. Go ahead and trade 50 planes to sink a CA, for example - that's near a 1:1 trade on VPs, and he only gets about 12 of those.

You need more VPs. If he's pushing into India, he can't defend Noumea. If he's defending Noumea, he can't defend Ceylon. Find those big vulnerable VP banks and make plans to take them in the autumn when you've got some more toys.

Beat that drum!

He gets 18 CA's actually

.

I know what you are saying, but I think some credit has to be given to Andre here. He knows what he is doing and has used other PBEM's to get to this point. He knows he can achieve AV without sticking his neck way out. He relies on destroying units and plays accordingly. I fear that being as aggressive as some Allied players suggest only plays into his hand at this time. He wanted a reinforced Ceylon, he wants a large Commonwealth commitment to Burma, he wants a knee jerk invasion in the South Pacific. These are the things he's planned for. The only 'safe' otions for me are low value VP moves which he knows won't affect his bid for AV, yet puts my naval assets at extreme risk for little gain. This is what I believe I'm up against.

I'm not afraid to risk assets, but I'm also not willing to simply throw them away either. At this stage that would be exactly what I would be doing. It certainly doesn't help that I lost a CV to a single torpedo hit which compromised my planned interdiction of the Japanese move against Ceylon.

I never said this would be easy and I certainly know that a Scenario 2 gives Japan way more options than Scenario 1, which is all I've ever played as Japan. I'm not saying Scenario 2 is unfair, but it certainly allows for exactly this type of situation.

It just seems way too easy to be in this position considering the lack of combat. Andre has yet to finish harvesting the starting Allied OOB that is stuck in the DEI and Philippines, not to mention thousands of VP's in China. It's only April 1942 and I hardly see how I could have effectively changed the current situation. This is why is seems far too easy for Japan to be in this position in my opinion. Could I have loaded up Ceylon? Sure, and now all those divisions would be destroyed and India completely defenceless. Could I have prevented the early move on New Caledonia and Fiji? Absolutely not. I'm dealt with outclassed air and naval forces and combat LCU's that have such low experience they simply can't hold against a patient, methodical Japanese player that simply commits more to the point of attack than my forces can deal with.

However, I play best when I'm up against the wall. I do have options. It's a matter of avoiding catastrophe and nibbling away where I can until I can make a move. However, the moves that need to be made I'm 100% positive Andre is counting on me making them as well. That's the problem.

< Message edited by SqzMyLemon -- 9/30/2014 8:02:06 PM >

_____________________________

Luck is the residue of design - John Milton

Don't mistake lack of talent for genius - Peter Steele (Type O Negative)

(in reply to Lokasenna)

Post #: 231

RE: Is it time to panic? - 9/30/2014 7:03:53 PM

JocMeister

Posts: 8262
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From: Sweden
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quote:

ORIGINAL: Lokasenna
I really don't think this is the case. Note that in my game, VPs never hit 3:1 during 1942, despite my loss of China. True, I didn't lose all of the troops, but the major difference is in my VP total - not the IJ VP total. You need to fight back. Even if you trade at 1.5 or 2 to 1 in his favor, it's a short term win for you. You just need to survive to the point where you're able to invade somewhere and bag lots of VPs in one go.

Yeah, but your VP is unusually high I think. At least so compared to my games. In my game vs Joseph where I had Noumea I ended up just over 8200 VPs in December 42. Granted I didn�t invest very heavily in base building. I did do that against Tom though and without Noumea I might have just passed 8000 VPs. So around 9k with Noumea and most allied bases maxed out. You had what? 12,5k VPs at the end of 42? Thats a very big number and I doubt many allied players reach that kind of number in 42.

Feel free to prove me wrong though!

(in reply to Lokasenna)

Post #: 232

RE: Is it time to panic? - 9/30/2014 7:21:43 PM

Capt. Harlock

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Joined: 9/15/2001
From: Los Angeles
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quote:

These are the things he's planned for. The only 'safe' options for me are low value VP moves which he knows won't affect his bid for AV, yet puts my naval assets at extreme risk for little gain. This is what I believe I'm up against.

It looks as if he has cast up the numbers well. But there is a possibility that you can turn a low-VP base into one that he cannot afford to ignore, for instance, capturing an island in the Kuriles within B-17 range of Hokkaido.

_____________________________

Civil war? What does that mean? Is there any foreign war? Isn't every war fought between men, between brothers?

--Victor Hugo

(in reply to SqzMyLemon)

Post #: 233

RE: Is it time to panic? - 9/30/2014 7:35:10 PM

SqzMyLemon

Posts: 4239
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From: Alberta, Canada
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quote:

ORIGINAL: Capt. Harlock

It looks as if he has cast up the numbers well. But there is a possibility that you can turn a low-VP base into one that he cannot afford to ignore, for instance, capturing an island in the Kuriles within B-17 range of Hokkaido.

All options are being considered.

_____________________________

Luck is the residue of design - John Milton

Don't mistake lack of talent for genius - Peter Steele (Type O Negative)

(in reply to Capt. Harlock)

Post #: 234

RE: Is it time to panic? - 9/30/2014 7:46:34 PM

Lokasenna

Posts: 9297
Joined: 3/3/2012
From: Iowan in MD/DC
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quote:

ORIGINAL: JocMeister

quote:

ORIGINAL: Lokasenna
I really don't think this is the case. Note that in my game, VPs never hit 3:1 during 1942, despite my loss of China. True, I didn't lose all of the troops, but the major difference is in my VP total - not the IJ VP total. You need to fight back. Even if you trade at 1.5 or 2 to 1 in his favor, it's a short term win for you. You just need to survive to the point where you're able to invade somewhere and bag lots of VPs in one go.

Yeah, but your VP is unusually high I think. At least so compared to my games. In my game vs Joseph where I had Noumea I ended up just over 8200 VPs in December 42. Granted I didn�t invest very heavily in base building. I did do that against Tom though and without Noumea I might have just passed 8000 VPs. So around 9k with Noumea and most allied bases maxed out. You had what? 12,5k VPs at the end of 42? Thats a very big number and I doubt many allied players reach that kind of number in 42.

Feel free to prove me wrong though!

My numbers are similar between games! Granted, I sunk Yamashiro in one and Hyuga in the other, but that's only 250 VPs. Against Arto, I'm at 12.7K on 12/19/1942. 50K VPs is a pretty tall order for anybody to get in 1943.

Bullwinkle's VPs aren't too dissimilar either - he has >12K in December 1942. He sunk Kaga and MKB, both combinations of good play on his part and poor anticipation or planning on mine. Maybe Andre is planning for you to hit those places. That doesn't mean that you can't do so.

Also, I didn't mean to stick your neck out (like a chicken

) right now - I mean in the fall. Make your plans for where you'll need to go. And stick to those plans. It may require flawless settings for your CV air groups (for example), but if you bring enough to the table you should be able to trade in your favor anywhere on the map. You just need to pick the spot. I still think Noumea is a prime location for at least one part of a two-part thrust - it doesn't have a lot of supporting base potential nearby (unlike Ceylon), and is worth a boatload of VPs to you.

Keep in mind that shattered units are cheaper to buy out. If you get some gutted Chinese corps and you have a PPs to cross HR, then you can get them on the cheap. They aren't great, but better to buy them out and schlep to India than have them killed, respawned, and killed again - right?

RE: New Caledonia, Fiji - you can't prevent that early on. You just don't have the units to send there. It takes at least 2-3 months to be able to send anything to reinforce.

RE: Ceylon - I disagree, unless (posting without checking back some pages in your AAR here) he went for Ceylon within the first 30-60 days. Anytime after that and it should be a Stalingrad for Japan.

Your VP total is about in line with everybody's at this point in the timeline. 6K VPs seems to be a standard baseline.

(in reply to JocMeister)

Post #: 235

RE: Is it time to panic? - 9/30/2014 7:54:52 PM

Bullwinkle58

Posts: 11302
Joined: 2/24/2009
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: JocMeister

quote:

ORIGINAL: Lokasenna
I really don't think this is the case. Note that in my game, VPs never hit 3:1 during 1942, despite my loss of China. True, I didn't lose all of the troops, but the major difference is in my VP total - not the IJ VP total. You need to fight back. Even if you trade at 1.5 or 2 to 1 in his favor, it's a short term win for you. You just need to survive to the point where you're able to invade somewhere and bag lots of VPs in one go.

Yeah, but your VP is unusually high I think. At least so compared to my games. In my game vs Joseph where I had Noumea I ended up just over 8200 VPs in December 42. Granted I didn�t invest very heavily in base building. I did do that against Tom though and without Noumea I might have just passed 8000 VPs. So around 9k with Noumea and most allied bases maxed out. You had what? 12,5k VPs at the end of 42? Thats a very big number and I doubt many allied players reach that kind of number in 42.

Feel free to prove me wrong though!

OK!

I'm playing Lokasenna in a Scenario 2 game. No HRs of course. He has non-historic R&D. I believe we have weather OFF, but I don't recall. He is as good a JFB as CB, trust me. I'm average at best in my second PBEM.

Just loaded the December 10, 1942 turn in Tracker. I have 14, 897 VPs. I've lost 400 more airplanes than he has. He owns Suva, Noumea, and all of China but Chungking. I suck at ground combat; I've made mistake after mistake, including several just this week. What's the difference? Ships. Just ships. You can't make it up with base building alone.

On my side of the FOW I've sunk 366 Japanese ships. He's sunk 438 of mine, mostly in the first two months.

It's a NAVAL game. You can't avoid auto-vic on land in 1942. A good JFB will eat you up. To Squeeze I would ask, if you won't use the RN to save Ceylon what are you saving it for? There are good bases all the way north to Karachi. He unloads fast, yeah, but not forever. Two more weeks actually. You don't need carriers to hurt the invasion zones. Trade 10-pt DDs for 10-Pt xAKs and you win the exchange.

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The Moose

(in reply to JocMeister)

Post #: 236

RE: Is it time to panic? - 9/30/2014 8:11:58 PM

SqzMyLemon

Posts: 4239
Joined: 10/30/2009
From: Alberta, Canada
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quote:

ORIGINAL: Lokasenna

Also, I didn't mean to stick your neck out (like a chicken ) right now - I mean in the fall.

I know what you meant. It's all good.

_____________________________

Luck is the residue of design - John Milton

Don't mistake lack of talent for genius - Peter Steele (Type O Negative)

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Post #: 237

RE: Is it time to panic? - 9/30/2014 8:18:56 PM

SqzMyLemon

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quote:

ORIGINAL: Bullwinkle58
To Squeeze I would ask, if you won't use the RN to save Ceylon what are you saving it for? There are good bases all the way north to Karachi. He unloads fast, yeah, but not forever. Two more weeks actually. You don't need carriers to hurt the invasion zones. Trade 10-pt DDs for 10-Pt xAKs and you win the exchange.

Anywhere, but Ceylon.

Andre has made a few comments now about the whereabouts of the RN. He's disappointed he's not had a crack at.

I totally agree, it's a naval game, but right now Andre holds too much of an advantage in my opinion, and in this regard he plays like me. When I play as Japan, I use overwhelming force in moving forward. Ask Jocke or Smeulders. I'd welcome any Allied move to counter a naval operation of mine in the first 6 months of the war. I actually appreciate you commenting in the AAR. I still have 8 months for the navy to turn things around.

< Message edited by SqzMyLemon -- 9/30/2014 9:19:30 PM >

_____________________________

Luck is the residue of design - John Milton

Don't mistake lack of talent for genius - Peter Steele (Type O Negative)

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Post #: 238

RE: Is it time to panic? - 9/30/2014 8:35:43 PM

Bullwinkle58

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quote:

ORIGINAL: SqzMyLemon

quote:

ORIGINAL: Bullwinkle58
To Squeeze I would ask, if you won't use the RN to save Ceylon what are you saving it for? There are good bases all the way north to Karachi. He unloads fast, yeah, but not forever. Two more weeks actually. You don't need carriers to hurt the invasion zones. Trade 10-pt DDs for 10-Pt xAKs and you win the exchange.

Anywhere, but Ceylon.

Andre has made a few comments now about the whereabouts of the RN. He's disappointed he's not had a crack at.

I totally agree, it's a naval game, but right now Andre holds too much of an advantage in my opinion, and in this regard he plays like me. When I play as Japan, I use overwhelming force in moving forward. Ask Jocke or Smeulders. I'd welcome any Allied move to counter a naval operation of mine in the first 6 months of the war. I actually appreciate you commenting in the AAR. I still have 8 months for the navy to turn things around.

Andre talks too much. He counts on his opponents to listen.

Against Loka the LCU VPs are about 8:1 against me. You can sink ships that can't shoot back. They count too. Things get a little easier after the first round of upgrades. But it's an often-ignored source of Allied VPs. In 1942 it's the smallest tech and experience gap in the OOB versus the Japanese.

_____________________________

The Moose

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Post #: 239

RE: Is it time to panic? - 9/30/2014 9:24:38 PM

SqzMyLemon

Posts: 4239
Joined: 10/30/2009
From: Alberta, Canada
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A thank you to all who are posting. I know the pace of the game is slow, but I do enjoy any discussions that arise in the AAR that facilitate the lack of updates.

_____________________________

Luck is the residue of design - John Milton

Don't mistake lack of talent for genius - Peter Steele (Type O Negative)

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Post #: 240

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RE: March 29/42 Update