Turn 1

Turn 2

Turn 3

Turn 4

Turn 5

Turn 6

Turn 7

Turn 8

Turn 1

IJN Report: The air raids favored the Allies.  In Indonesia, nothing except the 5th AF (which is shot down) is injured.  At Pearl Harbor, Maryland, California, Tennesee, and Nevada are sunk.  Nothing is left on the bottom either as the USN beats a hasty retreat.  The Oklahoma is crippled and goes to Australia for potential repairs.  Arizona and Pennsylvania (with 3 damage each) together with West Virginia (with 4 damage) take refuge at Samoa.  The two cruisers and LBA get away unscathed.  The I-Boat puts 1 damage on Hermes.

Fortunately, the location uncertain rolls go my way -- with only Group W arriving this turn.  That'll take some pressure off of Indonesia next turn.  It also means Rob doesn't collect the POC for the North Pacific.

The battle in the Japanese Islands also goes my way.  The De Ruyter is sunk while Houston is disabled in the first round.  After the Allied ships whiff, the Exeter beats a hasty retreat.

IJN gains the standard 7 PoC.

Turn 2

IJN Report: With a strong attack on Allied Home Areas and only one CV in Australia, I feel confident that three LBA will hold Indo.  That allows me to stave off the Marshalls' Block with two LBA as well.  My patrols are otherwise pretty standard.

With Rob using his LBA in Coral Sea and the Marianas, I go for an all-out attack on both U.S. Mandate and the Hawaiians.  Shoho misses her speed roll to the Hawaiians which encourages Rob to go for a big fight there.

The fight in the Hawaiians sees both sides lose four aircraft carriers.  The IJN NLF is sunk.  Without LBA support and so many CV down, that should enable the USN to save Samoa with nothing but LBA next turn.  However, without CV, the USN is hobbled in any area where it doesn't have bases -- and the USN has surrendered a lot of bases this turn.  The IJN is in terrific shape.

The USN gets its good news in the Marianas where its LBA disables the NLF with 2 damage to save the Philippines.  Fortunately, the USN doesn't use the Singapore Sling to make my life difficult.

IJN converts Attu, Midway, Singapore, and Lae by isolation.

IJN gains 8 PoC to increase the over-all IJN lead to 15 PoC.

Turn 3

IJN Report: Given the likelihood that the USN will save Samoa with LBA this turn, I don't really want to put my CV up against LBA.  I still patrol the U.S. Mandate heavily because I need to be prepared to fight there if the defense is too weak.  But I expect to pull a bait and switch to concentrate my effort elsewhere.  I also patrol the Hawaiians with 3 CA in the hopes of pinning the Wasp next turn.

My principle goals this turn are the conquest of the Philippines, establishing a perimeter, CV attrition, and running up the score.

I use three LBA in Indonesia to support my POC goals, hopefully sink British CVL, and because I don't need them elsewhere to support an Eastern Campaign.  I patrol everything except Bay of Bengal and Indian Ocean to rack up POC and attrition.

The USN puts patrollers out in several areas (which is good for me since I'll attack them).  Most of the Allied LBA go to the U.S. Mandate as hoped -- far too many for my five CV to handle.  The last two surprise me by defending the Philippines.  As a result, both of my NLF head to the Marianas to secure the Philippines.

With little Allied resistance in the Hawaiians, I send my main attack force there to flag the area (and threaten a conversion next turn) and sink the repairing BB.  I put CV in the Central Pacific to stop the Marines and another CV in the Coral Sea hoping for attrition.  The USN takes a risk on night in the Coral Sea (using that flag from last turn) and goes for attrition along the edge of the board.

The I-Boat whiffs in the U.S. Mandate, so no USN CV sunk this turn.  Although Zuiho gets two day actions in Coral Sea, she can't remove the Idaho.  In night action, she's sunk.  My cruiser can't get rid of the patroller either.  Guess I should have used Zuiho on the patroller first!

In the Marianas, night action allows the wounded NLF to take the Philippines while the good one lands at Truk.  CPO is an Allied disaster despite a night action first once Australia misses since the IJN flag means that Midway will be IJN controlled at the end of the turn.  Australia is sunk.  The two Marines are sunk in pursuit.

The Allied attrition strategy works -- as four IJN CA are sunk in U.S. Mandate, NPO, and Aleutians.

I feel good about this turn as all of my objectives except CV attrition are achieved, and I've got some good threats set up for next turn to keep the Allies guessing.

IJN converts the Philippines by invasion.

IJN gains 9 PoC to increase the over-all IJN lead to 24 PoC.

Turn 4

IJN Report: My goals this turn are to finishing running up the score, capture Guadalcanal, score attrition, sink Wasp, and threaten to convert Pearl Harbor.  I expect most of my fleet will be used in the attempt to secure Guadalcanal.

With only one USN CV on the loose, I spread my LBA thinly to encourage a fight while still controlling most of the ocean.  When the USN leaves Pearl Harbor only lightly defended by LBA, I decide to try for the conversion.  If I get it, I'll be in the running for the Full Applebaum.  If not, I shouldn't lose too much in the attempt.  It should also make sure that Wasp is sunk.

I lose my LBA in the Aleutians for nothing.  I lose the fight in SPO, but manage to sink Yorktown for my troubles.  In the battle for Pearl Harbor I sink Wasp, but have so many of my CV disabled that I withdraw.  I don't lose any CV in the battle, however.  I still consider it an IJN victory.

I fail to convert Guadalcanal or Pearl.  However, I do max out the score and sink both remaining Allied CV.  The Allies will have trouble stopping my offensive next turn or making any holes in my perimeter at all.

IJN gains 7 PoC to increase the over-all IJN lead to 31 PoC (29 Maximum).

Turn 5

IJN Report: With Hermes, Formidable, and Victorious as the only Allied CV in the game, I spread my LBA thinly to secure the interior, POC, and perimeter.  I use two LBA in Indonesia to maximize my odds -- especially after Hermes patrols.  I don't want any chance of interior raids next turn.

The Central Pacific is key in games where the Allies keep Pearl Harbor, so I commit the huge bulk of my fleet there.  Even with just two CV, the Allies shouldn't be foolish enough to attack that area.  I also send an NLF -- to guarantee that LBA in the CPO are secure next turn (and to threaten bases in the NE corner thereafter).

I patrol Allied Home Areas just to force the Allies to keep a lot of their LBA back out of my way.  Of course, I'd back that threat up if the Allies left an opening.  My raiders into SPO are designed to hammer his Marines (and save Lae) and then get out of there.  That's why I choose the 8-speed CV!

In Indonesia, my LBA sink Hermes without loss.  The South Pacific works like a charm.  My CV sink both Marines on the first round.  The I-Boat puts 1 more damage on Arizona.  And then I run away with impunity.  The USN LBA are impotent -- failing to disable even a single CV.  It was so bad that I almost thought about sticking around for one more day action to shellac his damaged battleships.  However, I decided the prize was not worth the risk.

In Coral Sea I escape without loss.  I lose one CA in the Hawaiians.  The U.S. Mandate is my disaster.  The first round sees Vicky sink Hiyo while only being disabled in return -- keeping British air power on the board next turn.  I also lose both cruisers during pursuit.

Nonetheless, I accomplish my main missions -- a perimeter blocking the Turn 6 reinforcements, removal of one British CVL, keeping the POC at 29, and keeping Lae.  I should easily be able to set up an interior perimeter next turn and limit Allied gains to 3 POC at the most.

USN converts Attu by isolation.

IJN gains 2 PoC to increase the over-all IJN lead to 33 PoC (29 Maximum).

Turn 6

IJN Report: I elect to play it safe this turn.  I use LBA to handle the Japanese Islands and Marianas since no Allied LBA or CV can go there.  I also use two LBA in Indonesia as a guarantee against the single CVL that the British can bring.  The fleet sails to CPO where it will pose a very untempting target for the USN.

Rob also plays it safe, avoiding possible suicide missions.  I send two NLF to Indonesia to keep Lae secure for next turn (I hope to extract them next turn for Turn 8 missions).  I also sail the NLF in CPO since I don't anticipate needing Midway after next turn.  However, I do keep it in CPO just in case the Allies decide to try a really risky move.

The map shows the final placement including the battle order and first action.  SPO and Marshalls are first to avoid Truk air raids (or air raids on my NLF in Lae).  The I-Boat whiffs on a CV that will, presumably, base in Dutch Harbor.

The day action in Indonesia guarantees that Lae will be safe.  Formidable is sunk and unable to stop an NLF in return.

USN converts Kwajalein by invasion.

USN gains 3 PoC to decrease the over-all IJN lead to 26 PoC.

Turn 7

IJN Report: With only two CV able to raid the Japanese Islands, I can control that area easily with 3 LBA.  The rest of my force can head to Indonesia and easily prevent any challenge by the USN.  Those two areas alone will limit the Allies to a 7 POC gain this turn.  Adventuresome raiding may come up with another 1-3 POC.  With a lead of 19 or more going into the final turn, I'll only need to pick up a 3 POC swing (or less) on the last move.  My fleet is still hefty enough that that shouldn't be a problem.

The USN is conservative in its patrols, so there won't be any IJN raiding adventures this turn.  I decide to send four BB to the Japanese Islands -- just in case the Allies get frisky.

The Allies to make one surprising more -- raiding Indonesia with six carriers (1 CV and 5 CVL).  My guess is that he'll try to exchange his small CVL for some of my better CV in order to raise the odds for next turn.  He'll need a lot of luck (starting with a day action) to get it, however.

The Allies do win the day action.  I sink 1 USN CV and 3 USN CVL while disabling the other USN CVL.  Only Formidable will remain for the Allies in the second round.  In return the Allies sink one CV and disable another.  Not a good trade for the Allies considering the kind of battle they must win next turn.  The Formidable wins another day action but whiffs.  She's easily sunk in return.

In the meantime, the Allies have landed their troops on Lae -- which surprises me, since they could have waited until the end of the turn (in PBEM that's the post-combat step at the end of all combat).  As it is, I get to air raid those Marines!  The first round sees the Marine take 3 damage.  However, in an unlikely turn of events, I only score a single hit in the second round -- leaving three Marines to hold Lae.  Since I can't get Lae, I hold my NLF back for the final move.

Interestingly, Rob's comments indicate that his daring move into Indonesia was designed to make certain he could secure Lae.  So he got want he wanted -- just not in the way he wanted it.

USN converts Lae by invasion; Kwajalein and Maleolap by isolation.

USN gains 7 PoC to decrease the over-all IJN lead to 19 PoC.

Turn 8

IJN Report: My move is simple -- patrol the Japanese Islands with so much that breaking control is all-but-impossible while holding enough as raiders to keep the USN honest in all the surrounding areas.

The USN patrols well enough in all of the surrounding areas that my adventures are limited to two -- the Kongo raids the Marshall Islands where the USN is trying to get away with just one patroller while my three NLF will try to take both Attu and Dutch Harbor to deny the LBA in the Aleutians one PoC.  Everything else goes to Japan -- as does every Allied ship that can get there.  Two slow BB try to help in the Marianas but fail their speed rolls.

The Marianas sees two rounds of action as both sides whiff during the first night action.  The second night action sees Kongo sink the USN patroller to deny that PoC to the Allies.

The Aleutians sees day action but the two LBA both whiff -- allowing the NLF to take Attu and Dutch Harbor and deny the Allies the Aleutians' PoC.

The Japanese Islands go no better for the USN.  The USN does win a day followed by night -- which, with a surface lap of two, will help.  However, the IJN air force is brutal.  At the end of the first round, only 4 USN CVL remain -- to take on four IJN LBA and six IJN CV (including Zuikaku and Shokaku, both with 2 damage).  The IJN surface fleet shoots poorly such that the USN laps the IJN by three after the night action -- which sees both Amagi and Unryu sunk (using their gunnery to keep Zuikaku and Shokaku safe)..

The final round is a day action.  All of the Allied CVL are sunk.  One more LBA is shot down to join them.  That leaves the LBA to rule the skies.

Rob put up a good fight -- especially considering that he's been fighting an uphill battle since the early turns.  Its tough to beat a 29 PoC lead even with early CV surviving.

USN Endgame Comments: The odds were definitely against me this game. After the T2 fight turned bad, I scraped all the way to set up that situation on T5, where I had about a 75% chance of capturing Lae, but then that failed.

Then I think my main mistake was basing at the end of T5, because I couldn't really made a good attack into CPO on T6, which I needed to do to keep the POC in check. I'm just not used to a Pearl game where the incoming CVs can't hit Indo/SPO.

So I decided to attempt to trick you into using mostly LBA in Indo on T7, but you were too smart for that. Then I realized I could send in my CVs and trade (hopefully) for your CVs to protect my marines. That kind of worked, but as with almost every turn, the IJN got the upper hand of the exchange.

Looking back through your commentary, looks like I screwed up T2 basing, too, missing an opportunity to cause some headaches inside your perimeter.

Oh well! I was hoping for a winning record in the T10, but I've proved I'm still learning the ropes.

IJN converts Attu and Dutch Harbor by invasion.

USN gains 9 PoC to decrease the over-all IJN lead to 10 PoC.
After the bid of 4 is subtracted, the IJN wins by 6 PoC.

Congratulations, John!