The I-Boat Raid and CPO Withdrawal adjustments are in play.
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IJN Comments: As the IJN, I had a great Pearl raid.
7th AF and two cruisers escaped, but that was all.
In Indonesia, a clean sweep by four Air Flotillas put 5th AF down in flames and
sank Prince of Wales and Repulse.
Allied Groups W & X decided to wait for Turn 2, while Saratoga braved CPO by her
lonesome, beating a quick retreat. Group Z slipped into Hawaiian waters, but
promptly left for safer areas, declining combat.
Turn 1 ended with the standard 7 POC for the IJN.
After such a great Pearl raid, I will be very aggressive Turn 2, pushing hard
into Hawaii and the US Mandate.
IJN Commentary: With the great raids Turn 1, I
will pressure the Allies as hard as I can.
I patrol single CAs to Japanese Islands, Aleutians, Central Pacific, Marianas
and the Coral Sea. Six CAs to Hawaii and three CAs to the US Mandate patrol to
try to place flags in both. I send three LBA to Indonesia, two to the South
Pacific and one to the Marshalls.
Rob patrols lightly, holding his fleet in reserve. North Pacific and Coral Sea
get single CAs, while the Marshalls gets two CAs. Allied LBA split, with the 7th
AF going to the Marianas and 10th & 11th AFs defending the US Mandate.
Yokosuka heads for Johnston Island, while Sasebo sails for the Marianas and a
date with the Philippines.
The IJN sends Hosho to reinforce 26th Air Flotilla in the Marshalls (which turns
out to be enough to keep the USN out!). 5 CV/CVL (Shoho speed rolls in from
Yokosuka Navy Yard) and all of the 4 speed BBs go to Hawaii. Four 8 speed CVs
and eight fast escorts join the three 118s in the US Mandate. Junyo meets up
with Suzuya to support in the Central Pacific.
Rob responds with small mixed fleets to the US Mandate, Aleutians and Coral Sea.
A large group of CAs sails to the Central Pacific.
The I-Boat goes to the US Mandate.
The first round of combat is very strange. The Marianas is a day round, and the
7th misses Sasebo. Sasebo invades the Philippines, ending the Allied efforts to
hold the Marianas.
In the Aleutians, Kitakami is quickly sunk by the two USN CVs.
In the Central Pacific, Junyo hits Chester, but can only inflict one point of
damage. In the next night round, both IJN ships whiff while Junyo is sunk.
Suzuya retreats.
The Marshalls sees De Ruyter disabled, after which Australia retreats.
Coral Sea day combat sinks Chikuma.
In the US Mandate, the IJN hits Yorktown for 2 and disables her, hits Hornet for
only 1, and shoots down 11th Air Force. In return, Rob surprises me and directs
all attacks from LBA and CVs against the three 118 patrollers, sinking all
three! The I-Boat fails to hit the wounded Hornet. Rob then retreats, splitting
the three ships. In the pursuits, damaged Hornet is disabled while sinking Hiryu.
Idaho and New Mexico both sink, taking Kirishima with them.
In Hawaii, Yokosuka takes Johnston.
In Indonesia, the best IJN bombing occurs, sinking Ramilles and Warspite.
Ship-wise, this turn hurts. Having hit two USN CVs and sinking neither, the IJN
pilots have their sake rations cut and their eyes examined. The loss of two CVs
and six CAs will also crimp the IJN style a bit. I was not able to hurt Rob
enough, but things aren't too bad. Johnston is mine, and Rob will only have 5
LBA next turn. Ports and bases: Singapore, Lae, the Philippines and Johnston
fall to the IJN.
POC rises 9 to IJN +16.
USN Comments: No BB's out of Pearl, yuk.
I use two LBA in the USM, but it isn't enough to keep John out. I consider
taking on the 3 LBA in Indo, but that isn't a sure thing either.
So I try a plan that I must admit was inspired by a Gardner-Freeman ladder
game*, go for the USM patrollers. I got the needed day, and John spread his
fire, taking out 1 LBA and one carrier (but only disabled!). Had he left both
LBA, I would have fired at the carriers, but it wasn't guaranteed. I went for
the patrollers, sinking all three. (Of course, had I targeted the carriers, I
would have sunk all four with those same dice....)
I run, mainly to save my LBA, but my last CV gets away while sinking Hiryu, and
I take out one BB. The main downside of this tactic, in hindsight, is that the
BBs are pretty much doomed, leaving the USN to be likely without any BBs until
T4. However, I didn't lose any CVs, so that's a big plus.
My other moves were designed to conserve CVs, bases, and POC as much as
possible. I used two CV in the north in order to guarantee a CV staying up there
(although it was likely the I-boat was going elsewhere).
* for those that are interested,
http://www.gameaholics.com/vitp_ladder/vitp_19_game_1.htm
IJN Commentary: Rob snookered me out of a flag
in the US Mandate last turn by hammering my three 118 patrollers, so I'll have
to content myself with converting Pearl Harbor this turn. No T3 Knockout this
game!
I DO want to flag the US mandate this turn, if I can, so my patrols allow
flexibility. Rob has sunk too many IJN ships, so I may be short of what I want
this turn.
Four 127s head for each of Hawaii and the US Mandate. Single CAs patrol Japanese
Islands, Marianas, Central Pacific and Coral Sea. LBA split, 4 to Hawaii and one
each to the Marshalls and South Pacific. I decide to let Indonesia go to the
Brits this turn, as I have no LBA or ships to spare.
Rob sends strong British patrols to Indonesia, and single CAs to North Pacific
and Marshalls, holding most of his ships for raiding. His LBA (all five) go to
Hawaii.
I slip Kure into the unpatrolled Aleutians, planning to support the landings
with raiders. Rob sails both Marines out from Pearl into Hawaii, hoping to
either draw a lot of fire away from his LBA or snatch Johnston (and my LBA) out
of the confused fray.
IJN raiders split, with Yamato and Hiyo protecting Kure in the Aleutians, three
CAs and three CVs supporting the US Mandate patrols, and a flock of BBs and CV/CVLs
making the Pearl Harbor run.
Rob's Allies strike where the IJN ain't. CAs to the Japanese Islands, a CA/CV
task force to the Central Pacific, another CA/CV task force to the Marianas, and
two CVs to the South Pacific to shoot down my lone LBA. A big fleet of CAs and
crippled Yorktown (-2) try to crush Suzuya in the Coral Sea. Rob sails the three
reinforcement BBs in Hawaii to cover his Marines.
The I-Boat sneaks into the South Pacific, trying to even the odds a bit.
Round 1 Combat key results: the I-Boat miss Hornet in the South Pacific. In
Hawaii, one Marine is sunk, but the other only disabled (despite 12 non-bonus
shots), and Kure takes Dutch Harbor in the Aleutians. Attrition is almost even,
with the Allies losing two BBs sunk, and the IJN lose two CAs and Kongo sunk.
Rob retreats his LBA from Hawaii, leaving South Pacific as the only fight left.
Round 2 - South Pacific - Hornet and 26th Air Flotilla take each other out.
Pearl Harbor converts, and the IJN flags the US Mandate. However, there are only
three (3) IJN flags on the whole board: Hawaii, Marshalls and the US Mandate!
POC this turn is even, stalling the IJN ascent at 16. Not good!
USN Comments: My split fleet challenges a lot of
areas, but allows John to make a decent attack into the Mandate. My basic
choices were:
1) Attack the Mandate
2) Attack Hawaii
3) Abandon both and go for POC.
Both 1 and 2 were even (or worse) fights, and likely to lose good portions of my
fleet. I decided I could go with option 3, ONLY if I can extract my LBA from
Hawaii to defend the Mandate on T4.
I stretch my northern fleet thin. I originally went for just JI and Mari, but
decided to stretch to CPO, too, to save the 1 POC, preserve the base, and to
have SOMETHING that can base and still threaten the north next turn. All three
areas worked out.
I waited to see Johns D/N prefs, since I was going to agree to whatever he
wanted. The last thing I wanted was a D/N, as that would allow his full
firepower to train on my LBA. A day would have been OK, since he had too few
carriers to safely let the marines go.
He goes with night, and I get lucky again, extracting a BB and a marine from the
area, much more than I expected.
IJN Commentary: POC is my big problem, and Rob
has denied me flags in too many areas. His defense of northern bases and daring
raids have limited the IJN efforts - starting Turn 4 POC is only 16!
This turn, I must clean up the board and increase IJN POC. Big adventures will
not be possible.
My big advantage this turn is the flag in the US Mandate. He cannot let me flag
the US Mandate again! Eight (yes, eight!) Allied LBA mean I won't be converting
Samoa unless Rob loses his senses, which he hasn't yet and likely won't. Rob had
to base the Allied ships in Australia and Guadalcanal. My big problem is the
gaping hole in the perimeter - South Pacific and the Marianas are wide open, so
from Guadalcanal, Rob can hit the Japanese Islands, reinforce the Central
Pacific, a whole raft of horror stories for the IJN.
Rob only has one CV (at Midway) which can spoil my NE corner cleanup plans. To
increase the POC, I send single CA patrols to the North Pacific and, Central
Pacific. Two CA patrols stake out Hawaii and the Marshalls. Three BBs and Hosho
patrol the South Pacific. LBA cover Japanese Islands (1), Marianas (1) and
Indonesia (3).
Rob sends a lone CA from Midway to the Japanese Islands (before he knows an LBA
will cover here), the normal Brits to Indonesia, and a single CA to the
Marshalls. Allied LBA split - two to the South Pacific and six (6) to the US
Mandate.
Yokosuka SNLF heads for Attu, and Sasebo makes for Midway. Rob's 2nd Marines
(which I could only disable last turn despite 12 surface shots against it) sails
into the Coral Sea.
IJN raiders support Yokosuka in the Aleutians, Sasebo and Oi in the Central
Pacific, Maya and Myoko in the Marshalls, and the BBs and Hosho in the South
Pacific. Since Rob only has Lexington left in Midway to challenge the NE corner
and Hawaii, I'm relatively confident of holding the North Pacific and Hawaii
with only cruisers.
Rob responds with three (3) CVs to the Japanese Islands. His surface forces sail
into the Coal Sea to cover 2nd Marines and aid basing for next turn. US Mandate
sees the area-bound ships sail.
The I-Boat stays in home waters, with CVs to stalk and a patrolling Pensacola
threat to counter, if needed.
Combat
Japanese Islands - 24th Air Flotilla disables Pensacola and is shot down by the
three Allied CVs in the first round. The I-Boat whiffs, but at least the POC
doesn't go to Rob for JI.
Marshalls - Australia is sunk in a day action.
South Pacific - in a day action, the cream of the IJN Naval Air whiffs against
Rob's two LBA. Fortunately, they also whiff! 21 shots, no sixes! Marine and 13th
AFs retreat to end the round.
Indonesia - day - Hermes is sunk but scores no hits against the IJN LBA. The
British fleet withdraws.
Yokosuka takes Attu, and Sasebo takes Midway, cleaning up the pesky NE corner.
Rob's forces will be south of the picket line for the next turn.
This is a good turn - I flag everything I want except the Japanese Islands. POC
rises 7 to IJN +23.
I send my returns, and wait to see if Rob catches the key move here - basing 2nd
Marines in Guadalcanal. Since I will only have Kure next turn, the 2nd in the
'Canal makes Rob's LBA certain in the SPO. I hope (in vain!) that he will land
the 2nd Marines in Australia or Samoa, but no dice. They reinforce the 'Canal,
making this next turn very tough for me. Gonna be some difficult decisions in T5
for the IJN. Ten (10) Allied LBA, and I want to flag SPO!
USN Comments: Last turn, I held the POC steady
and conserved my fleet, but at a cost. Now I have only 1 CA and 1 CV at Midway
to threaten the north, as my LBA have to be used to defend the USM.
John doesn't patrol the USM, but I will have to try and defend it anyway, as the
Wasp and the repairing Yorktown would be quite a target for air raids. I patrol
my one northern CA in Japan to threaten the 6 POC swing. John obviously plans to
use LBA in Indo, JI, and Mari. I hope to try to get him to use 4 in Indo, but no
dice.
I hope to land my Marines at Guadalcanal and be sure to hold the SPO with LBA
next turn. I considered risking my northern CV in an attempt to decontrol
Hawaii, or to take out one of the NLF, but I settle for the JI. The LBA is sunk,
but it takes out my patroller. Rats! I really regretted losing the northern
bases, but I had so little to work with. I didn't want to suicide my CV and then
just DISABLE one of the NLF. Not worth it.
I manage to extract my 2 LBA from the SPO which will help next turn.
IJN Commentary: The IJN need POC - with a bid of
four, the IJN has to max to stand a chance. And, I need to stopper the T6 CVs if
I can.
Rob has rebuilt his fleet after Pearl Harbor - not enough attrition so far. My
rear areas are clean, but Guadalcanal (with 2nd Marines) makes SPO LBA heaven,
and Rob has ten of the little devils! Rob has five (5) CVs and Victorious this
turn, so his fleet is also threat (besides the LBA).
I decide to try to hold Hawaii with three LBA, and Indo with two. I'd rather
lose Indo (if I have to lose one of the two) so as to protect the NE corner
longer. I don't want one POC (NPO or the Aleutians) to allow Rob the win, if I
can help it. Therefore, my ship patrols are single CAs in the safe areas, and
five BBs plus three CVLs to the SPO. I send two 127s to the US Mandate, just to
threaten a flag and locking the T6 CVs in the Mandate. Ought to draw some LBA!
Rob sends Shropshire to Indo, and pairs of CAs to Hawaii, Marshalls and Coral
Sea. Allied LBA split, two to the US Mandate and eight (yes, 8) to the South
Pacific.
I'm beginning to regret such heavy patrols in the SPO. With all the LBA there, I
cannot hope to win the battle. Kure wouldn't be able to rid the area of LBA
unless the fleet first wins the battle (against eight LBA?) and then air-raids
Guadalcanal, eliminates 2nd Marines, and invades. So, I send Kure to the Coral
Sea. Yes, Rob can overmatch the IJN raiders here, but at least the CV balance
will be good.
Once again, I wait to see what 2nd Marines will do. Do they sail? I hope...
Rob is smarter than that. 3rd Marines goes to the Marshalls, 1st Marines slips
into the South Pacific under an umbrella of LBA, but 2nd Marines just digs
deeper holes in the Guadalcanal sand.
IJN raiders split - with Musashi speed-rolling into the South Pacific, Hiyo
going to the Marshalls to try for 3rd Marines, and the rest into the Coral Sea.
I must get day, win a few rounds, and then air raid 2nd Marines into extinction,
all the while preserving Kure from a surface lap and air attacks. If all this
happens, Guadalcanal falls, the LBA in SPO leave, and 1st Marines goes down
easy. Way too many "ifs," but it is what I feel I must do.
Allied raiders also split, with Wasp and a BB going to the Marshalls to cover
3rd marines, and the rest (too many!) surround the IJN raiders in the Coral Sea
(literally!).
I send the I-Boat to the Marshalls, hoping to prevent an Allied base invasion.
I have to take some chances, so I decide to clear the Marshalls first (Wasp
might survive and air-raid Truk). Then, I will settle Coral Sea, hoping to get a
day round first - 50/50 chance - and have a couple of CVs survive. Then, more
days and finally some air raids on 2nd Marines. Finally, I'll settle SPO, hoping
the LBA are only a memory. Too many forlorn "hopes" this turn.
Combat
Marshalls - Rob gets pure night against the flag. Suzuya and Hiyo sink and
disable the Allied patrols. Hiyo is hit for.... 1 and disabled! Suzuya retreats,
and the I-Boat whiffs against 3rd Marines. Kwajalein falls, but no Allied flag.
Coral Sea - Rob gets pure night, and we trade surface fire. The IJN fire is
fair, disabling all but one of the Allied BBs and sinking four Allied CAs,
including the patrollers. Rob gets four of the six IJN CVs, disabling Shokaku
and Soryu. He does NOT fire on Kure. Despite having to take more damage, I risk
the remaining fleet and land Kure on New Hebrides. cannot affect SPO, but next
turn will be fun with an IJN LBA presence possible in the Allied home areas. The
next round is day, and Rob hammers the IJN remaining hulls. Yamashiro sinks, but
Hiei is hit for 3 and disabled! Atago is also disabled. The last four IJN
cruisers scatter, and Rob gets three of the four. Only Maya survives. New
Hebrides was costly! Might have been a bad decision - we'll see.
South Pacific - Rob gets a pure day (great luck on crucial day/night rolls). The
three IJN CVLs sink 1st Marine, and Rob sinks Zuiho. Shoho and Hosho are only
disabled! The six BBs retreat, ending the battle.
US Mandate - night - the CAs retreat.
Hawaii - day - Canberra is sunk, Wichita is disabled.
Indonesia - day - Shropshire is sunk.
Flags & POC - Rob holds only the US Mandate, South Pacific and Bay of Bengal.
POC maxes out at IJN +29.
Rob will have most of what he wants next turn - his CVs are intact, and he gets
a bunch of new flattops. I'll have to carefully count POC and what I might be
able to do to upset his plans on coming back. Three turns, 25 POC... This turn
was bad - missing all of the crucial day-night rolls was tough, and the ship
casualties hurt.
USN Comments: As I lay out my plan for the turn,
I realize it IS possible for John to take out my marine, but it involves the
convoluted process of air-raiding from Coral before landing his own marine.
After seeing my LBA in the SPO (enough to defeat his carrier force), that's in
fact what he tries to do. I think for awhile and decide that I'll never get a
better chance to hurt John's fleet than this. I have a huge surface lap, and the
flag. A day could be painful, but I've already got a hole (probably two) punched
in the perimeter. Only if there are two day actions in a row would I be worried.
I nervously spare one CV and a BB for the Marshalls, but it would be nice to
have that hole, flag, and base.
I get my D/N rolls in the key areas. Unfortunately, John shoots very well, and I
shoot a bit below average. A lot of his one shot ships get results, including
both ships in Marshalls clearing my patrollers!!! ARGH. Despite firing on all
ten IJN CV's this turn, I only sink 5, disabling the rest. John's fire sinks 6
cruisers overall (seven, if you count the British) and damages several of my BBs.
I manage to partly even up the attrition, sinking 2 BBs and 3 CAs in the Coral
fight and ensuing pursuits. But even then, I disabled a lot of ships instead of
sinking them.
The only hope I had to stop the IJN from maxing out was to flag both Coral and
Marshalls this turn, but neither happened. Oh well.
Still, killing 5 CVs without losing any is nothing to be sniffed at. I need to work my advantage of my large CV fleet somehow; it'll be tough since I can't concentrate my few BBs effectively with so few forward bases. I didn't mind that John invaded New Hebrides. Any LBA he sends there can be countered by my LBA, and I still have my 2 Marines. I'll have 4 more chances to steal forward bases, along with decent chances of flipping either Indo or Hawaii, and possibly Truk. Will it be enough?
USN Comments: John goes for his free POC, and I
expect him to try and hold either Hawaii or Indo with LBA and possibly his
fleet. Hy BBs are split about evenly, so I'll be a bit short of surface power
either way.
He tries Hawaii with LBA instead, holding back his fleet and 1 LBA. He also
sends sacrifice BBs to Marianas to thwart a T7 conversion of Truk. Lone NLF
challenge bases in Marshalls and SPO.
He succeeds in the Marianas, sinking one and disabling the other. Both IJN BB
are sunk. One NLF is sunk and the other disabled. Allies invade Lae and
reinforce Kwaj.
In Hawaii, 4 LBA are shot down, only managing to sink one CV and disable
another. John retreats. POC goes to 22.
USN Comments: John holds Japan with his fleet but keeps a significant raiding force, causing heavy patrolling on my part. He also tries to hold NPO with his 2 LBA. I decide to challenge, hoping to get disabled CVs while I kill his LBA. It doesn't quite work as planned, but well enough. Both LBA are shot down over several rounds, but not before they sink one CV and cripple two others. POC goes to 13.
USN Comments: John has to swing 8 POC to win, a
tall challenge. As the patrols and LBA lay out, it turns out he must win Japan
AND either deny me control in both NPO and Marianas, or win the Marianas with
his patroller.
I want to commit everything to Japan, but decide to raise my chances slightly in
the other areas in case the IJN LBA prove to be really tough.
John resigns after one round of combat in which both sides shoot fairly well,
leaving the USN favored to decontrol Japan, win the Marianas, and possibly flag
NPO as well.
IJN Report: Rob Flowers has beaten John Sharp in their Top Ten match. Rob's Allies bested the IJN, ending the game with a raw score of 0 and an adjusted POC of Allies +4.5. Rob played a great game.