<insert witty title here>: an Allied WitP:AE AAR

[Baron von Schtinkenbutt]

I'm about one game month into the Ironman scenario.  This scenario gives Japan significant ahistoric buffs to its OOB.  It is designed for single play with the human controlling the Allies.  As far as I can tell this scenario was made to give Allied fanboys a challenge against the AI.  I have specifically not peeked at the Japanese starting position in order to keep the OOB combosition and initial targets a surprise.  And what a surprise they have been.

I will provide a recap of the first month of the war here.  From now on I will try to give things in more manageable bites.

Note: click on the map images for the full-size version.

Central Pacific

I will start, of course, with Pearl Harbor.  The raid did not go all that well from the Japanese standpoint.  All they managed to sink were an AVP and a couple coastal minesweepers.  They severely damaged seven of the eight battleships and a heavy cruiser.  West Virginia managed to come through the attack unscathed.  The rest of the vessels damaged were not severely so, and I had them all repaired within two weeks.  The New Orleans and four of the battleships I sent to the West Coast for repairs; the other three will stay at Pearl.  The battleships will require anywhere from six months to a year to fully repair.

Unfortunately, the Japanese made up for that dismal performance a couple days later.  Instead of heading back to Japan like I expected, KB slanted southwest towards Truk... and right into the path of Enterprise.  I had a couple of nailbiting turns, but Big E survived, albeit in bad shape and with a severely depleted air group.  Her escort screen got mauled, though: two heavy cruisers and four destroyers sunk, and another heavy cruiser moderately damaged.  Enterprise will be out of action until mid-February, taking up hald the yard space in Pearl as a critical job.

In other CENTPAC news, one of those little surprises as an invasion fleet popping up at Midway.  Multiple small fleets, actually.  Fortunately, I had Lexington and Saratoga hanging around Pearl, a day away from leaving for Brisbane actually.  I also had a large cruiser force standing by.  I ran both fleets northwest at flank speed, apparently burning out some bearings based on the engineering damage the ships sustained.

Of course, this was under the assumption the Marines on Midway actually, you know, needed help.  They were too busy tearing the Guards Mixed Brigade and its transports new assholes.  The shore batteries have not yet been credited with a sinking, but they damn sure deserve several assists.  The Vindicators on the island definitely got a couple ships, though.  The Navy helped make it a slaughter.  So far, only a CL, TB, two LSDs, and an AK have been confirmed.  I expect to see several more pop up on the list in the coming weeks.

The Phillippines

I managed to get most of the ships out of the Phillippines.  It wasn't easy, though.  I think one of the OOB buffs is a significant increase in the number of Twin Engine Cruise Missiles (and 2E Army bombers), because they were swarming all over the place.  They sank Langley and several merchants.  I also lost two sub tenders and a gunboat to mines that a Jap sub laid off Bataan on day 1.  All Asiatic Fleet combat ships escaped, though.  I had the S-boats deploy to try to get some shots in on the invasion fleet, and the fleet boats run supplies to Cagayan before heading for Perth.

I decided to spend some political points to rescue the B-17 squadrons.  I won't have them past mid-42, but until then they can help suppress Japanese airfields and slow their advance.  The rest of the squadrons still exist on paper, but are severely depleted.  I may just withdraw them in the next few days.

On land I am following the plan and turtling in Bataan and Cagayan.  Cagayan has been doing well so far, but only has about a month's worth of supplies left.  It should hold until those run out.



Clark Field has proved to be an insurmountable barrier to the Japanese army.  Originally, I just planted these troops there to cover the airfield until I could get all the damaged planes out.  However, the Japs have been beating their heads against them for days and getting nowhere, so I'm going to leave them and wait for the Japs to bring up enough firepower to dig them out.  In the meantime, the score is US 15000, Japan 1000 and they seem more than eager to waste more troops.



Of course, if they think Clark Field is bad, just wait until Bataan...



Malaya

I am also using the turtle strategy in Malaya, with Johore Bahru and Singapore as my fortified cluster.  Unfortunately, the Japanese army overran the front line troops at Alor Star and Kota Bahru.  Out of eight units stationed in the two bases, only one made it to Singapore.  The rest of the British forces made it down, however, and I have a nice little welcoming committee.





On the naval front, I evacuated everything from Singapore.  I did manage to get the damaged warships repaired first, though.  Needless to say, Force Z did not go anywhere near the Japanese landings.  No warships have been lost from the Singapore contingent.

Burma

I am going to attempt to hold the Japanese at Pegu in Burma, but I do not have high hopes.  The British are fairly weak here, and the supply situation is not that good.  TECMs have spent the last month laying waste to Rangoon's harbor and any airfield with planes.  I have evacuated all air forces from Burma because they were completely ineffective.  The Japanese are taking their sweet time getting up here, though.





Dutch East Indies

Not much happening here yet.  Most of the fighting has been on Borneo, where the Japanese have taken most of the northern coast.  The Dutch submarines have been badass so far.  I have lost four, but they have sunk a CL, and LSD, and 4 AKs (confirmed).  The S-boats have been getting a few hits as well, though the only kill for them so far is a DMS.  The fleet boats are supply transports.

Things are starting to get dicey.  KB disappeared arounf 14DEC.  I think the AI has split the fleet up and the ships are now running around the DEI, as there are now multiple fleets launching air attacks in various places.  Additionaly, the TECMs are now in range of Soerabaja.  They put a torpedo in Repulse and nearly sunk Boise (a carrier raid on Soerabaja finished the job).  Thusm I have pulled all ships out of the DEI, save a few small AKs for evacuating selected air groups.

South Pacific

Going basically as expected here, except for the sneaky little bastards stealing Baker and Canton from me.  I can't let that stand, because if they build up Canton my SLOC to Oz is threatened.  I am already building up Noumea and Luganville, so I can add retaking Canton now as well.



The AI took Tulagi early as well.  I'm sending the ANZAC fleet to say hi.



China

The Chinese are useless.  I tried a couple offensive moves, but it seems like the Chinese can't attack for shit without 4:1 odds.  I'm now moving to consolidate into defensive positions until I can build up some of these horribly understrength divisions.



That's it for exposition.  Massive data tables follow!

Air losses to date:

Side	Total Loss	Total Air	Total Flak	Total Ground	Total Ops
Allied	529	227	2	185	115
Japan	300	175	26	2	97

Allied ship losses to date:

Name	Nation	Sunk Date	Sunk Location	VP	Tonnage
xAK Bennevis	British	1941/12/07	78,64 near Hong Kong	12	6100
xAKL Chaksang	British	1941/12/07	Rangoon	3	1700
xAK Hanyang	British	1941/12/07	78,64 near Hong Kong	5	2750
xAK Ming Sang	British	1941/12/07	78,64 near Hong Kong	7	3700
xAK Munlock	British	1941/12/07	78,64 near Hong Kong	8	4220
xAKL Ardent	Commonwealth	1941/12/07	Rangoon	3	1700
AVP Avocet	US Navy	1941/12/07	Pearl Harbor	3	840
AMc Condor	US Navy	1941/12/07	180,107 near Pearl Harbor	1	215
AMc Crossbill	US Navy	1941/12/07	180,107 near Pearl Harbor	1	215
DD Scout	British	1941/12/08	78,66 near Hong Kong	5	1225
xAK Hai Lee	Commonwealth	1941/12/08	79,68 near Laoag	7	3700
PT Q-112	Philippine	1941/12/08	78,77 near Bataan	1	35
xAKL Elcano	Philippine	1941/12/08	80,85 near Cebu	2	1050
DD Craven	US Navy	1941/12/08	173,107 near Niihau	6	1550
DD Gridley	US Navy	1941/12/08	173,107 near Niihau	6	1550
DD McCall	US Navy	1941/12/08	173,107 near Niihau	6	1550
DD Ellet	US Navy	1941/12/08	173,107 near Niihau	6	1550
AV Langley	US Navy	1941/12/08	78,77 near Bataan	16	11050
AVD William B. Preston	US Navy	1941/12/08	Davao	5	1315
PT PT-41	US Navy	1941/12/08	78,77 near Bataan	1	35
TK Manatawny	US Navy	1941/12/08	80,85 near Cebu	15	5300
xAK Governor Wright	US Navy	1941/12/08	80,85 near Cebu	10	4990
xAK Ravnaas	Commonwealth	1941/12/09	75,87 near Zamboanga	5	2750
SS KXVII	Dutch	1941/12/09	51,72 near Singora	8	771
xAKL Sarangami	Philippine	1941/12/09	75,87 near Zamboanga	2	1050
xAKL Taurus	Philippine	1941/12/09	75,87 near Zamboanga	3	1700
CA Salt Lake City	US Navy	1941/12/09	180,107 near Pearl Harbor	35	9100
ML No. 376	British	1941/12/10	Hong Kong	1	86
ML No. 377	British	1941/12/10	Hong Kong	1	86
CA Northampton	US Navy	1941/12/10	175,107 near Niihau	35	9050
PG Asheville	US Navy	1941/12/10	Bataan	4	1200
AS Canopus	US Navy	1941/12/10	Bataan	18	5975
AM Robin	US Navy	1941/12/10	Johnston Island	3	840
xAK Hinsang	British	1941/12/11	77,83 near San Jose	8	4220
xAK Nanning	British	1941/12/11	77,83 near San Jose	5	2750
SS KXI	Dutch	1941/12/11	51,72 near Singora	6	670
AVP Valk	Dutch	1941/12/11	61,102 near Bandjermasin	3	1020
CMc Pro Patria	Dutch	1941/12/12	56,104 near Soerabaja	2	537
xAKL Latouche	Philippine	1941/12/12	66,98 near Balikpapan	2	1050
AS Holland	US Navy	1941/12/12	Bataan	21	8100
MTB MTB 27	British	1941/12/14	72,90 near Tawi Tawi	1	25
AM Bittern	US Navy	1941/12/14	71,89 near Tawi Tawi	3	840
MTB MTB 9	British	1941/12/16	72,90 near Tawi Tawi	1	25
MTB MTB 11	British	1941/12/16	72,90 near Tawi Tawi	1	25
SS S-39	US Navy	1941/12/16	78,74 near Iba	6	850
MTB MTB 7	British	1941/12/17	72,90 near Tawi Tawi	1	25
MTB MTB 8	British	1941/12/17	72,90 near Tawi Tawi	1	25
MTB MTB 10	British	1941/12/17	72,90 near Tawi Tawi	1	25
MTB MTB 12	British	1941/12/17	72,89 near Tawi Tawi	1	25
MTB MTB 26	British	1941/12/17	72,90 near Tawi Tawi	1	25
TK British Judge	British	1941/12/18	50,94 near Toboali	20	7150
HDML HDML 1104	Commonwealth	1941/12/20	Rangoon	1	54
SS KVIII	Dutch	1941/12/21	64,87 near Miri	5	670
SS KXVI	Dutch	1941/12/25	75,99 near Manado	8	771
xAK Chilka	British	1941/12/28	Rangoon	7	3700
xAK Indira	British	1941/12/28	Rangoon	8	4220
xAK Mundra	British	1941/12/28	Rangoon	12	6100
xAKL Agnes	Commonwealth	1941/12/28	Rangoon	3	1700
CL Boise	US Navy	1941/12/29	Soerabaja	40	9700
HDML HDML 1100	Commonwealth	1941/12/30	46,58 near Port Blair	1	54
HDML HDML 1101	Commonwealth	1941/12/30	46,58 near Port Blair	1	54
HDML HDML 1103	Commonwealth	1941/12/30	46,58 near Port Blair	1	54
AVP Bellatrix	Dutch	1941/12/30	Soerabaja	2	700
TK Esso Durban	US Navy	1942/01/03	215,69 near San Francisco	30	10165

Japanese ship losses to date:

Name	Nation	Sunk Date	Sunk Location	VP	Tonnage
SSX Ha-24	IJ Navy	1941/12/07	Pearl Harbor	4	46
SS I-5	IJ Navy	1941/12/08	54,53 near Rangoon	8	1970
AK Kinka Maru	IJ Navy	1941/12/08	51,73 near Patani	14	6840
LSD Shinshu Maru	IJ Navy	1941/12/09	51,72 near Singora	35	10700
DMS W-20	IJ Navy	1941/12/10	80,73 near Vigan	3	755
SS I-59	IJ Navy	1941/12/10	29,48 near Colombo	11	2200
CL Kashima	IJ Navy	1941/12/14	58,88 near Kuching	28	7041
LSD LSD - 7	IJ Navy	1941/12/24	156,93 near Midway Island	28	8730
AK Rukko Maru #3	IJ Navy	1941/12/24	156,93 near Midway Island	12	6825
CL Jingei	IJ Navy	1941/12/25	158,91 near Midway Island	30	7590
xAK Toyohasi Maru	IJ Navy	1941/12/25	75,99 near Manado	13	6475
TB Tokoro	IJ Navy	1941/12/25	157,91 near Midway Island	4	945
xAK Giyu Maru	IJ Navy	1941/12/28	66,87 near Beaufort	4	2375
xAK Teihoku Maru	IJ Navy	1941/12/29	67,91 near Tarakan	13	6475
LSD LSD - 9	IJ Navy	1941/12/29	158,91 near Midway Island	28	8730
DD Kyukaze	IJ Navy	1941/12/31	67,91 near Tarakan	6	1552
DD Kuretake	IJ Navy	1942/01/02	67,91 near Tarakan	4	910

[Syt]

I salute your effort, but most WitP.AE AARs have the longevity of King of Dragon Pass AARs.

[fhdz]

I salute your effort, but most WitP.AE AARs have the longevity of King of Dragon Pass AARs.

HEY NOW

[CountDeMoney]

Of course, this was under the assumption the Marines on Midway actually, you know, needed help.  They were too busy tearing the Guards Mixed Brigade and its transports new assholes.

Heh.  Way to go, Devereaux.

[Baron von Schtinkenbutt]

Of course, this was under the assumption the Marines on Midway actually, you know, needed help.  They were too busy tearing the Guards Mixed Brigade and its transports new assholes.

Heh.  Way to go, Devereaux.

Its amazing what a motivated Marine and his 7" CD gun can do.

[CountDeMoney]

I gotta dig up this game again.

[Drakken]

Malaya

I am also using the turtle strategy in Malaya, with Johore Bahru and Singapore as my fortified cluster.  Unfortunately, the Japanese army overran the front line troops at Alor Star and Kota Bahru.  Out of eight units stationed in the two bases, only one made it to Singapore.  The rest of the British forces made it down, however, and I have a nice little welcoming committee.

If it is your plan you should also :

A) Spend those PP to remove Percival as HQ Leader and put an Officer with better Leadership and Land Rating.
B) Make sure those units are well-rested, and bring in supplies from India and the Middle East. The threshold for enabling replacements is more than 30,000 supplies either in the unit's or the unit HQ's base.
C) Bring in division reinforcements from Australia, India, and Middle-East off-maps. Your Malaya Army, by itself, will not resist to the Japanese sustained attack very long.
D) Bring in those Engineers and Fortify, Fortify, Fortify.
E) Pull Force Z away from Singapore to Palembang to reunite them with the rest of the ABDA, and use it as a powerful fleet-in-being to raid unprotected debarkment fleets.
F) Accept that by the end chances are very high that you will lose Singapore. The aim here is to delay them and screw with the Japs' invasion timetable.

[garbon]

You can stop editing your post.

[Baron von Schtinkenbutt]

A) Spend those PP to remove Percival as HQ Leader and put an Officer with better Leadership and Land Rating.

Had not considered this.  I will definitely do that.

B) Make sure those units are well-rested, and bring in supplies from India and the Middle East. The threshold for enabling replacements is more than 30,000 supplies either in the unit's or the unit HQ's base.

The supply situation is good for now, and the industry in Singapore helps.  I will likely try to run some more in soon.  It will be tricky, though, with the volume of TECMs in the area.

C) Bring in division reinforcements from Australia, India, and Middle-East off-maps. Your Malaya Army, by itself, will not resist to the Japanese sustained attack very long.
D) Bring in those Engineers and Fortify, Fortify, Fortify.

I'm not going to bring more troops to Singapore, as I don't think losing them is worth delaying the Japanese more.  The forces coming down the peninsula at the moment do not seem all that strong yet anyway, so I'm not sure what the AI's game is.

E) Pull Force Z away from Singapore to Palembang to reunite them with the rest of the ABDA, and use it as a powerful fleet-in-being to raid unprotected debarkment fleets.

Force Z, the Asiatic Fleet, and the Dutch navy are headed for Colombo.  They would get torn apart operating anywhere in the area.

F) Accept that by the end chances are very high that you will lose Singapore. The aim here is to delay them and screw with the Japs' invasion timetable.

I expect to lose all three blocking forces eventually.  With the OOB buffs I'm not sure I can get anything serious rolling as a counteroffensive prior to the end of '42.

[Viking]

I don't play WITP so I don't know the specifics of the game.

Any chance of using strat bombers from malaya to disrupt japanese oil production?

- my classic performance against japan in WiF involved me holding malaya, using it as a base for strat bombers and then fighting the IJN under a british and american air umbrella in the Bay of Bengal keeping the supply open until japan ran of oil in 4 months.

If you pulled the units in malaya out would they be useful for anything other than defending bases and/or holding the line in Burma?

[Baron von Schtinkenbutt]

I don't play WITP so I don't know the specifics of the game.

Any chance of using strat bombers from malaya to disrupt japanese oil production?

- my classic performance against japan in WiF involved me holding malaya, using it as a base for strat bombers and then fighting the IJN under a british and american air umbrella in the Bay of Bengal keeping the supply open until japan ran of oil in 4 months.

I don't have the air assets or the ground support units to pull this off.  Anyway, its only a matter of time before the AI can build up enough 2E bomber bases in range of Singapore to put the airfield out of action and cut off the supply convoys.  I'm just trying to make it as tough a nut as possible before that happens.

As I was typing this, I started mulling over the possibility of running the S boats out of Singapore for as long as I can hold the base.  I won't risk tenders there, but the port has enough facilities to support the operations of six to eight boats.  With the S boats in Singapore and the Dutch boats in Soerabaja I can frustrate Japanese attempts to extract resources for as long as I can hold those bases.

If you pulled the units in malaya out would they be useful for anything other than defending bases and/or holding the line in Burma?

I could use them in New Guinea, but pulling them out at this point would be risky.  I know some players advocate pulling at least the Australian units out.  If the air situation was better, I might consider that.  While I am willing to risk transports full of supplies, I am not willing to risk transports full of troops.

[Drakken]

You can stop editing your post.

No, it annoys you and I find it fun. 

I don't play WITP so I don't know the specifics of the game.

Any chance of using strat bombers from malaya to disrupt japanese oil production?

- my classic performance against japan in WiF involved me holding malaya, using it as a base for strat bombers and then fighting the IJN under a british and american air umbrella in the Bay of Bengal keeping the supply open until japan ran of oil in 4 months.

If you pulled the units in malaya out would they be useful for anything other than defending bases and/or holding the line in Burma?

Japan has next to no oil production, and Java and Sumatra haven't been attacked yet.

From experience I can tell you, the airforce in Singapore is already getting pummeled in the ground and in the air by the Japs. The RAF has no long-range bomber with sufficient range to even hit Japanese bases outside Malaya.

WITP is hyper-realistic, to the point of anal retention, in the scope, range, and power of every country's ordnance. The Allies have next to nothing to hit Japan and remotely hurt him until well into 1942, and even then it tends to reach parity. For the first six months of the game the Allies have to avoid the KB at all cost, delay the Japanese, make him lose some precious troops and support ships, and bend, bend, bend without breaking.

[Drakken]

As I was typing this, I started mulling over the possibility of running the S boats out of Singapore for as long as I can hold the base.  I won't risk tenders there, but the port has enough facilities to support the operations of six to eight boats.  With the S boats in Singapore and the Dutch boats in Soerabaja I can frustrate Japanese attempts to extract resources for as long as I can hold those bases.

The Dutch S boats are the best sub assets you have right now, as they don't suffer from the US Mark-14 dud rates. At least in Soerabaja they are safe from Japanese ASW, you can't afford to lose them.

[Baron von Schtinkenbutt]

From experience I can tell you, the airforce in Singapore is already getting pummeled in the ground and in the air by the Japs. The RAF has no long-range bomber with sufficient range to even hit Japanese bases outside Malaya.

Singapore is basically untouched at the moment, because the Japanese cannot yet get their fighters there, and as shitty as they may be a herd of Buffaloes can handle unescorted bombers fairly well.  Plus, their bombers have better things to do at the moment, like trying to dig me out of Luzon.

I'm going to post the ground combat reports for Clark Field tonight.  The Japs are doing a spectacularly bad job there.  I've never seen combat odds so low before.

[ulmont]

I salute your effort, but most WitP.AE AARs have the longevity of King of Dragon Pass AARs.

This one, on Something Awful, has been running for almost 4 years now, with 1 day of game time posted each day of real time.  Started 2009-12-07, and the calendar has matched up ever since.  Currently at 1945-07-03 in game.  Unfortunately, the images for the first year or so of the thread were lost when waffleimages died.
http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3238049