EAST WIND RAIN - MIDWAY/SOLOMONS SCENARIO This replay records my solitaire gaming of the extended introductory scenario for EWR. I recommend reading my review of the game first as it should make the replay easier to follow. The scenario is a learning game that uses only a portion of the map and counters with an abbreviated turn sequence. Anyway it covers the height of the Japanese expansion in the period April 1942 thro' June 1943, although that is only five quarterly turns. APR - JUN 1942 Japanese deployment is for an attack on Midway and the Aleutians with a multi-TF fleet comprising the amphibious assault; carrier support and heavy surface cover force. The opening JP carrier strike on the Midway base and garrison was successful, destroying the defending squadron and the base. Two US CVs then locate and attacks the JP carriers but, despite achieving surprise, they cause no damage and withdraw to remain on patrol in the area covering Midway. The JP cover force of heavy surface ships then moves in but is intercepted by the US BB squadron; in the surface fight the US suffer damage to two battleships including the modern New Mexico and withdraw. The victorious JP squadron continues it's operation and catches the Yorktown and escorts in a bruising night battle that leaves two US CA sunk and the Yorktown hurrying back to Pearl. Finally the JP amphibious force moves in under both air and naval cover to assault and capture Midway fairly easily; a forlorn hope interception by a US sub fails to even locate the JP fleet! A JP whitewash is prevented though when a 4sps of US subs intercept the JP task force bound for the Aleutians. The CVL and all the transports are torpedoed with the remaining escorts steaming in back to Japan. JUL - SEP 1942 The JP continue to drive the tempo of the game with deployments to occupy the Aleutians (if in doubt try again); consolidate Midway and attack Port Moresby. A subsidiary operation is to occupy Tarawa. An early air strike against Port Moresby defeats the US air defending the base. A Commonwealth TF then moves to land reinforcements into the Australian base. A TF of Japanese carriers closes in on this weak squadron but Allied interceptions are attempted by both an SS and a squadron of CV's. The SS is easily driven off but the carrier air battle leaves the Akagi sinking gracefully into the depths of the Coral Sea whilst the Yorktown is severely damaged. The JP morale holds up and the US squadron withdraws to New Georgia. The interceptions clearly had an effect as the JP carriers fail to find the Commonwealth task force and they remain patrolling the Coral Sea to await further developments. The Commonwealth task force (a CA, some DD and transports with troops) gets tantalisingly close to Port Moresby when it is spotted by the powerful JP air fleet in Rabaul. A devastating strike by the JP army air destroys the entire TF! (Signal lesson in what happens when weak naval forces are sent within range of land based enemy air). By contrast the JP assault on Port Moresby is a complete success. Carrier air from the CVL Hiyo destroy the base defenders and it is easy for the assault divisions to attack and capture the base. The TF leaves a garrisoning regiment and withdraw to Truk. This is important as it leaves the strategic Coral Sea area now contested by both sides. A belated air strike on Port Moresby by a few Australian bomber SPs, based at Darwin, is intercepted and destroyed the JP CAP. This trend of JP air domination of the South Pacific lasted the entire replay. In the central Pacific things go better for the US. Here a US sub evades the JP air cover and attacks the Tarawa landing group. It causes no casualties but the JP call the landing off rather than risk further combat rounds. Back at Midway a carrier battle develops as the US try to recapture the base. A TF comprising the Yorktown (no rest for the workhorse of the US carrier fleet) and the Saratoga is intercepted by a JP TF containing the Shokaku and Zuikaku. In a swirling series of strikes the JP are driven off with damage to the Shokaku but in return the JP army planes on Midway make a lucky strike and sink the Saratoga. Undeterred by the withdrawal of their air cover, the US amphibious group approaches Midway only to be intercepted by an SS that attacks...and sinks...all the transports. A second attempt by the JP to occupy the Aleutians is a complete success when they evade the US subs on patrol in the area. Again things look particularly bleak for the Allies so as a final act of defiance a powerful US surface fleet built around the BB Washington is ordered out of Efate looking for blood. They find it in a JP patrol comprising the BC Haruna and some heavy cruisers. The JP are demolished with the US losing some CLs and DDs in return. OCT - DEC 1942 DEPLOYMENT Large JP air fleets of army planes and bombers are based in Truk, Rabaul, Port Moresby and the Northern Solomons. No surprises there. This is to provide land based cover for a major assault with CV, BB and TR on the Eastern Solomons. The rest of the JP air fleets take up station on the perimeter bases in Midway and the Aleutians. The Allies have been weakened considerably especially in Australia. Nevertheless the surface forces pack a punch if they catch an isolated JP TF. The deployment reflects this with economic resource points (ERs) and army air are loaded into transports in the US West Coast ready for transfer to Australia (bombers can hop via Allied bases due to their longer range); an amphibious group with Marines readies for another assault on Midway whilst the main fleet groups in Fiji looking for a chance to ambush any JP moves. OPERATIONS JP air raids continue to devastate the Northern Australia defences; the Allies there are reduced to a single ground SP with a few army air SPs limping off to Darwin to keep out of the way. An Allied bombing mission against Port Moresby is easily driven off by the JP CAP. Further JP air attacks from Guadalcanal damage the US base on Espiritu Santo. This leaves US air pushed back to Efate and leaves the JP with air supremacy in the Solomons. The US attempt a diversion by an attack against Midway (where the JP garrison is now without CV support). The US CVs steam in, destroying an intercepting sub en route, and strike the Midway base. This successfully reduces the JP defences taking out the base, the air SP and the infantry garrison. The US assault group moves in and, with supporting naval bombardment, the Marines retake Midway. The victory is overshadowed by the loss of yet another US CV, Wasp, during the initial air strike. Back in the Southern Solomons the JP fast carriers start operations against the US bases. A series of air strikes wear down the defending air at Espiritu Santo and Efate and the JP pilots then turn their attention to the US surface fleet covering the New Hebrides. In a desultory performance they sink a US CVE and a few DD SPs. Undeterred the large TF of CVs stays on patrol to cover the next stage...an amphibious assault on the Major base at Efate. At this point things looked very bleak for the Allied forces in the South Pacific. Air cover was down to half a dozen air SP with 2 bomber SPs in Australia and only 1 NAP in Fiji (only there because the CVE it was origninally on was sunk!). Ground forces comprise a single SP of US infantry at Fiji nervously awaiting the JP onslaught...or should that be 'with gritty determination'. All the US commander (still me, but sounds better put this way) had in the area was the powerful squadron built around 4 modern BBs; problem was whether to gamble by throwing this force against a JP fleet that had ample air cover and risk losing it or to play safe and withdraw to the South East Pacific. He gambled. The JP amphibious TF moves into the Hebrides area ready to assault the major base. The US BB squadron immediately starts an interception but is counter intercepted by the waiting JP carriers and their massed strike planes. There is a nervous moment for the US squadron but the carrier search fails, allowing the US BBs to close in on the JP amphibious TF. A bruising naval engagement follows with two large surface squadrons slugging it out over two rounds of intense gunnery and torpedo exchanges. The capital ships comprise 4 BBs and 5 CAs on the US side facing off against 4 BBs and 2 CAs for the JP. Both are screened by numbers of CLs and DDs. Two US BBs are damaged and one CL is sunk. In return the mighty Yamato is consigned to the deep along with an older BB. The JP morale collapses and the entire TF withdraws to Truk. New Hebrides remains in US hands as a result of this resounding naval victory. Rejoicing in Washington whilst the JP TF commander lodges an official complaint with the Chief of Navy Air over the lack of CV air cover. The final act of the turn, to underline JP supremacy in Australia, is a bombing run over Darwin. It surprises the US forces there and destroys both the base and the remaining aircraft. Australia is now completely devoid of Allied air cover. JAN - MAR 1943 DEPLOYMENT JP make a massive air and naval deployment into the uncontested (i.e. no Allied bases) Rabaul and Coral Sea areas with fleet carriers, a healthy sprinkling of BBs and the ever present amphibious force. As they have the initiative the JP deploy the remaining subs in a picket line to completely isolate the South Pacific bases from the US West Coast. (Some complaints in the reviews I've read about this tactic) Against this ominous threat the US South Pacific fleet deploy to cover the New Hebrides while the supporting carriers, an amphibious group and a convoy of reinforcements deploy off Christmas island. OPERATIONS JP open the offensive by air striking Darwin and Cape York (two initiatives in one operation). Darwin escapes but the air and ground units in Cape York are destroyed. A US convoy breaks through the JP sub cordon and lands army air and economic resource points (meant for Australia) in Fiji and Pago Pago. In an attempt to divert the impending JP strike in the South Pacific the US carriers attack Tarawa. The naval air strike by the US is inconclusive but the whole operation ends in disaster when the return strike by the JP army air from Tarawa sinks the USS Hornet. (One JP air squadron commander earmarked for promotion there). The Allies are now down to only two operational fast carriers. The US TF slopes off to patrol around Pago Pago and they are quickly joined by the amphibious TF after it evades the JP subs. The JP then move in on the New Hebrides with a powerful amphibious group. An initial CVE strike destroys the base at Efate. Just before the landings take place the patrolling US BB squadron moves to intercept but the heroics of the previous quarter are not repeated. A BB is lost and a CA damaged by an air strike from the covering CVEs alone. It is too risky to engage the main JP surface forces so the US retreat to Pago Pago. The JP assault and capture Espiritu Santo with no losses. Australia is now completely isolated. The second JP amphibious TF attacks Cape York. JP infantry are ferried in on transports with naval gunfire support. The lack of an SNLF element shows as it takes four rounds to reduce the defenders and capture the Australian base. After leaving a garrison the JP TF withdraws to Rabaul. In a final operation-intercept sequence some JP army SPs are ferried over to reinforce Iwo Jima leading a sole US sub to try an intercept. To just underline the JP control it is counter-intercepted by an Inland Sea cover force of DDs and consigned to the deep. EPILOGUE At this stage I stopped the game. The garage was getting too cold and my brain was getting frazzled from the effort of thinking for both sides, even if my strategic planning was hardly top notch. Anyway the JP lead seemed overwhelming, they had firm control of the Central and South Pacific areas; they had air supremacy well, everywhere; they were poised to capture a virtually defenceless Australia and they were well ahead in ER's to boot. In fact it would have been interesting to keep playing as the US were just about to get massive CV reinforcements and to start outstripping the JP in ER's per quarter. Whether they had enough time to counterstrike and bite back into the JP Co-Prosperity sphere would have been an open question I think, especially as the Scenario has a limited duration. All in all the importance of the victory at Midway in the real Pacific War was all too evident. Something that rarely occurs in boardgame replays I suppose. What did I like about the game? Well there are a number of features that I think worked well in modelling the actual operations (IMHO that is). There is the whirling nature of air strikes and counter-strikes; the surface naval battle slugging matches that can last several rounds and then be over very quickly when morale collapses; the fact that carriers are indispensable but worryingly fragile and then there is the all-or-nothing nature of submarine attacks. Most of all though, the integrated sequencing of operation, interception and counter-interception worked well I thought. Next step, the full war starting with the Pearl Harbour strike and bringing in the China-Burma-India theatre and eventually all those Essex class carriers. Now there's a solitaire challenge if ever there was one. ANNEX: Force comparisons. This annex is for the more quantitative minded reader (all those comparison charts in The General have convinced me that the US gamers thrive on this sort of thing) It shows the forces for each side showing the at start strengths and the final loss total in the following form: Unit type JP at start/losses US at start/losses (Losses can be larger than the at start level due to reinforcements during the game. Also the large number of damaged ships are not shown.) CV JP: 5/0 US: 3/2 CVL JP: 1/2 US: 1/1 BB etc JP: 8/1 US: 5/1 CA JP: 8/4 US: 9/4 CL JP: 9/4 US: 3/4 DD JP: 22/3 US: 14/5 TR JP: 7/2 US: 7/0 SS JP: 6/4 US: 5/3 Naval air JP: 28/18 US: 11/24 Army Air JP: 34/18 US: 14/34 Bombers JP: 17/4 US: 5/9 Ground units JP: 18/7 US: 18/7