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[Erkki]

Really Important Units situation:

Imperial Japanese:
CV: 6
CVL: 2
CVE: 2
BB: 9

Allied:
CV: 2
CVL: 0
CVE: 1
BB: 1+1

CV USS Yorktown and battleship USS Iowa will arrive to the Theater within a week... But not quite yet, and even then, refitting and sailing across the Pacific might take them as much as 3-4 weeks, in minimum 2 - and if, and only if, the Americans decide to bring them to action immediately. So far, I have the superiority in firepower.

[Erkki]

December 28th.

In the Philippines, Butuan is cleared, and the troops start marching to the West, next step is Cagayan. Steady progress everywhere. The only naval related action is G4Ms sinking a British destroyer off Baltimore.

[Deadmeat1471]

Looks good Ekki, but dont get over confident! They can recoup those losses easily if you dont make significant gains quickly!

[Erkki]

I know, and I cant really replace my losses. Not even cruisers... Once KB is freed, say February-March 42, I'm going out hunt the Allied CVs. If I can help it, I cant allow them to gain numbers to match the KB 1:1. In the following 2 months, Allies are going to receiver one American and one British CV(Swordfishes and Sea Hurricanes, I guess), plus a CVE. If I can take out 1 or 2 it will be very risky for the Americans to challenge me before 43, as by September I will have 2 CV, 1 CVL and 1 CVE more, too. With Enterprise out, the best they can do before May is 4+0+2, of one British with the WW1 vintage aircraft, vs. my 6+3+1.

[Erkki]

December 29th.

Zeroes shoot down Buffaloes were probably the last 4 Allied fighters in Malayan peninsula. Brunei falls to the Japanese hands. Palembang invasion moved to January 2nd - I can now give it more cruisers to sweep ahead. Kido Butai will set sail to New Guinea tomorrow. First troops will also cross the border to Burma, and the southern part of the 14th Army in the Philippines will start marching into Manila...

[thobal]

So reinforcements are set in stone? What are the victory conditions?

[Erkki]

Not at all in stone, Theres some variation in the dates, and I can halt naval production or accelerate it, for each ship, if they are already being built(hull laid, not before that, though). Ships can also receive upgrades in weapons, systems, armor etc, I can choose between the upgrade or whether to upgrade them at all. For bigger ships each upgrade might mean a month in the drydock. Upgrades are mostly historical ones for the ship class in question, but there are also a couple of what ifs.

Aircraft industry is completely "free" for Japan, including research & design. Ground units' reinforcements depends on where they are, how well supplied, administrated and where the HQ they have been assigned to is. I can also effect pilot training and who is assigned to what squad, depending on their skills and branch, of course. There is quite a complex industry system that uses different resources, refineries and factories to create supply, fuel, weapons, engine, aircraft, ships as well as repairing at drydocks... All that stuff has to be moved around the map too, there are just 2 off-map pools, for 6 resources. That means I have to run huge convoys that bring stuff from China and later Dutch East Indies to keep my home islands' industry running. On the returning trip the convoys take supplies and fuel to the front and island bases.

I am not going to make the mistake the real Japan did with pilot training and aircraft design... I already have 4 fighter and 3 bomber schools set up, for the lower skilled, but already "graduated", pilots.

There are so called victory points counted for destroyed enemy ships, ground units and aircraft, as well as possessing bases/areas as well as having units. If by January 1st I have enough points, the game will end as the Amis will give up and suggest a peace treaty. If I dont, I can try again in Jan 44, but that is going to be though... By late 1944 the Allies should have total dominance of the seas. They can easily outproduce the Japan.

[Erkki]

December 30th.

Some ugly Dutch bombers attack destroyers in the Gulf of Siam, patrolling Zekes are vectored in and shoot down their fighter cover... Calm before the storm! Depending on how my opponent reacts, tomorrow or Jan 1st will be big days. Hollandia on the northern coast of New Guinea was invaded(a single aviation support battalion) - no opposition of any sort.

Kido Butai sets sail in Japan. It has 396 combat aircraft + around 35 patrol floatplanes. 144th Regiment is loaded into an ambhibious task force at Guam, to meet a second force of Marines and construction regiments now being loaded at Truk. If timing is right, they shouldnt need to wait any extra time in the ships(and accumulate fatigue), as the much faster KB will catch them.

I'm going to try landing without KB interfering, keeping it (hopefully) out of the range of Allied patrols, but if Allies react, especially if with carriers, KB will move in. I dont think the Amis can sink enough ships in just one day to stop the invasion... Now fingers crossed for this gambit to work. I actually want them to come and sink my ships and marines this time.

[Erkki]

December 31st.

Midnight, a force of 6 destroyers and a cruiser that sweep ahead the Tarakan invasion meet 2 Allied cruisers... Java and Dragon! Dragon sinks one old Japanese destroyer, but Java receives a torpedo hit and some shells. At dawn, a nearby Japanese submarine locates the wounded Java, shoots 4 torpedoes and scores 3 hits. Java sinks.

Off Singapore, Allied patrols finally spot the incoming armada and launch their air strikes. Over the course of the day, over 20 Allied bombers are shot down, but they also sink a small Japanese gunboat and 2 transports, as well as score a sole hit on CVL Ryujo. Ryujo's 10 Zeroes are not enough to be everywhere, though they shoot down a lot. Ryujo is not mortally wounded, and it can still operate its aircraft. Also, there are no fires or hull damage; I expect it to spend a few weeks in the Hong Kong dry dock after the operation is finished. Ryujo holds its position for now, battleships Yamashiro and Fuso move to cover the invasion.

Japanese bombers fly over 100 sorties over Singapore, bombing airfields and the port. 2 Dutch submarines anchored in the harbor share 5 x 250kg SAP direct hits, both sinking. Multiple torpedo boats and motor launches are also destroyed, and 4 transports receive hits, and burn. Japanese aircraft losses due to enemy action today are just 3 bombers, all hit by flak and lost on their return leg.

[Zrk2]

This may be the second best game ever. Try to keep up your momentum or the America production line will eat you, ask the real Yammamoto; he said he wasn't fighting the American navy, he was fighting the American production line. Also, how goes China?

[Erkki]

January 1st.

Tarakan and Manado invaded! The 120mm coastal defense guns in Tarakan sink 2 transports, but that was expected. Manado invasion lands unopposed(just light mortar fire) - invasion forces at both bases will move inland tomorrow.

Japanese bombers keep bombing airfields around Singapore, and today, only about a dozen Allied bombers attack my ships. Early hours tomorrow, the time of attack favored by the Japanese, Palembang will be invaded. CVL Ryujo is OK, and it would have sent its torpedo bombers against some Allied transports sighted steaming south at flank speed, but weather is horrible. The same thing with the bombers that were supposed to repeat the yesterday's strike the Singapore Harbor.

In the Philippines, first units move in downtown Manila. If aerial reconnaissance is to be trusted, the defenders should be easily overwhelmed, and Manila mine on Jan 3rd. In Malaya, my armor spearhead (Though the Germans and Soviets would laugh at what the Japanese think is "tank") advances another 50-ish km, chasing the retreating Brits ahead.

This may be the second best game ever. Try to keep up your momentum or the America production line will eat you, ask the real Yammamoto; he said he wasn't fighting the American navy, he was fighting the American production line. Also, how goes China?

I know. Thats why I'm going to be active and gambit my (relatively) expendable transports, trying to lure the American carriers in for the Kido Butai to finish. If I can kill off another 2-3 carriers this year (1942), I might actually have a fleet of some sort after mid-44. In real life Japanese lost most of the little they still had left in the famous Battle of Leyte Gulf.. We will see. Reading AARs of other people, there have even been "inverted Midways" where 8 Japanese carriers slaughter 9+1+3 Allied carriers 7 sunk to 1 damaged.

China is going OK, front is mostly stable, and I'm dealing with the small units half behind my lines and at the flanks. A major thrust was opened yesterday, its target is Sian and its oilfields in the North China.

[Zrk2]

Mmmm... Oil is good, yeah, try and choose your battles. Take only lopsided attacks, or battles where you can get a great return for the lost ships, when compared to what the Amis lose. Could we see a screenshot of the Chinese operation, perhaps?

[Erkki]

I'll add lots of screenshots to next update, maybe even today... Home Islands will have oil for their refineries for another 2 weeks and fuel for factories for a couple of months(there are also synthetic oil factories in Kuyshu, but they are barely enough to run half of the aircraft industry, let alone all war production, logistics, and running the Navy combined). Sakhalin Island has some oil, as does Formosa, but not even close to enough to the capacity of my refineries and industry.

Now that I have both Brunei and Miri, the oil situation has been improved(they also have on-site refineries, so I dont need to bring all the fuel from home soon anymore), and Tarakan will have more oil and refineries. Palembang, if/once I get it in the next 3-4 days, will quadruple the Empire's oil production. I'm moving Zeroes in to protect the oil fields from Allied bombers(they WILL try!), and hope they dont have too many pioneers and engineers there that can sabotage the factories.

[Zrk2]

MOAR OIL! Can you re-name units or anything? OR can we just 'claim' a ship or something? That's usually fairly funny when we get screwed.

[Erkki]

Nope, but if someone wants a pilot(mention a branch(army vs. navy), role (fighter, level bomber, dive bomber, torpedo bomber, recon/patrol/float(most cruisers and other bigger ships have search float planes), or even a transport) and what kind of... I have it all from aces to rookies. Thousands of them. Leaders are also tracked, for all ships and units, as well as task forces(though usually flagships' captain also commands the task force, but this is not the case with, say, Kido Butai).