Rookie Mistakes

Treating the US Fleet with Kid Gloves

Over the course of the game, the US player should expect to take heavy naval losses. Most Japanese players will not throw away their prime carrier units to an Ambush as was the case historically. Thus, the US should expect to take more naval attrition than you might expect. But rest assured, the US will win the attirtion battle (albeit in some cases too late for the US to win the game). That being said, the US fleet is vulnerable in 1942--and if the fleet is crippled, then ability of the US to make Progress of War in turns 4-6 is compromised and with it US prospects for victory.

One mistake rookies make is that they try to go on the offensive too early with the US fleet. You might think, as I did, that spreading out the fleet creates multiple threats that Japan has to deal with. However, such tactics early in the war also allow the Japanse to destroy the USN piecemeal.

In my second game with Dave, I took the US. Dave's IAI opening was strong. On turn 2 he conquered the DEI and the Mandates; on turn 3, New Guniea and the Philippines fell; and on turn 4, Malaya submitted. With his rock solid defense in New Guniea and the Solomons, my strategy was to shift the Halsey HQ to Timor and go on the counter offensive in the DEI.

In the process of implementing this strategy on turn 5, I split the USN into four parts:

Even worse, the air units were based near, but not in Funafiti. Out came Operation MI from the Japanese Future Offensives Queue (see picture to the right). A massive TF of Japanese surface units descended upon Funafiti supported by four carrier units that "bracketed" Funafiti and isolated the naval and nearby air units. (This is one way the Japanese can utilize their superior three-hex carrier strike range. By stationing three hexes from Funafiti, the Japanese created a ZoI net larger than the US ZoI net and thus cut supply.)

The naval units in Cairns were not enough to make a difference and were not risked in reaction. If Japan rolled 100% hits, the US would only lose more naval units so in this desperate situation it was better to leave them home. Instead the US sent in a couple of LRB in hopes of presevering some of the naval assets on a poor Japanese roll. Japan rolled a 7 = 100% x 110 factors = 110 hits; the US rolled a 3 = 50% x 47 factors = 24 hits. The US lost the CV Enterprise, BB Mississippi and and BB Washington while Japan took minimal damage.

Reverse Midway

Reverse Midway: US naval caught piecemeal

Another mistake that rookies can make is over-extending the USN when it is still vulnerable to a counter attack. Holding back and waiting for the Essex Class CVs is not a winning (or fun) strategy but being overly aggressive is not effective either as it opens you up for a devestating reaction followed by a "coup de grace" counter-attack. The key is to strike the proper balance and at the same time make PoW on some turns, but opt to forego it on others and focus on raiding.

After the Funafiti debacle, I continued my strategy to attack into the DEI and made a risky assault into Java. Operation Forager II was launched, led by Halsey in Timor. Prior to the offensive, the 2nd Marine Division had landed one hex west of Soerabaja and was kept in supply by the 2nd MAW on Bali. A reduced step CA was sent to Saigon to "smother" the only reaction AA force in the area and the rest of the US forces pictured below attacked Soerabaja. Because Soerabaja was defended by a SNLF brigade and reduced Army, the most likely battle outcome would be 12 hits for the US (2 SNLF steps) and 13 steps for Japan (1 Marine step) so the Americans had a better than 50% chance of winning the battle. The Japanese blew the reaction roll but had the red JN25 Code Change which allows reaction after a failed intelligence roll.

I was thinking that even if Japan did react, the meager Japanese forces in the DEI would not be able to inflict much damage but I didn't realize that Saigon is within range of the Combined Fleet HQ which sat in Kure. Because Saigon was a battle hex, this allowed the Combined Fleet HQ to react and Japanese carrier TFs from the central Pacific were sent to the DEI. In addition, strong air units from Burma and the Philippines were also committed since Japan had the opportunity to deal a crushing blow to the Allies.

In the ensuing blood bath, both sides scored 100% hits--62 hits for the US and 96 for Japan. But with only three air/CV units for the US (the two carriers and Marine air), the US could only damage three units outside the battle hex. Both US BBs were flipped and the carriers and Marine air were eliminated. In return, Japan's three elite air units were flipped along with the Zuhio CVL. To top it off, the US lost the ensuing ground combat. Suffice to say, this operation was renamed "Halsey's Waterloo."

Variations on this theme come up a lot in turns 3-6. The US needs to be carefully where it fights because a strong Japanese reaction followed by a counter-attack can decimate the US fleet. This attack was also inferrior from a tactical sense in that it didn't have enough air support. And the lack of air support was due to the poor doctrine of spreading out carrier assets between Funafiti and Australia. Suffice to say, plenty of rookie mistakes can ead to a pile of eliminated US Naval Assets.

Halsey's Waterloo

Halsey's Waterloo

Covering Your Rear Assets

HQs

This next rookie mistake does not come from an actual game but it is one that I see many rookies make once. In short, these rookies learn to garrison their HQs with a ground unit at virtually all times. Often HQs are at the rear of the front and their defenses are neglected as commanders focus on the immediate needs of the front line. However, the loss of an HQ can have profound implications in a theater as immediately units are isolated for the remainder of the turn.

Japanese HQs tend to be more vulnerable than Allied HQs. This is because Allied HQs are usually located in areas in which HQs from the turn track can be placed via a discard. For example, if ANZAC is displaced from Port Moresby, it can be placed back in Australia during the turn by the Allies and thus keep the Commonwealth forces in the region in supply. However, if the SS HQ is displaced from Truk, it can only be placed back in Japan during the turn. Any Japanese units out of range of the Combined Fleet HQ would be out of supply. By turn 3, Japan needs to keep at least a 9-12 Army unit in Truk to defend against a possible surprise attack by the US at the end of the turn that might displace the SS HQ.

Another way to protect your HQs (or at least minimize the displacement of one of them) is to have HQs with overlapping ranges. The loss of one of them will have minimal initial impact as the other HQ covers the area. Examples of this overlapping technique include the Combined Fleet HQ in Manila while the S HQ is in Saigon for Japan and ANZAC and SW PAC HQs in or near Australia for the Allies. For the same reasons, the S PAC HQ is often not defended if it is placed in the South Pacific area since its range is subsumed by SW PAC which is usually in Cairns.

Conclusion

This concludes my school of hard knocks. If you haven't learned these lessons already, hopefully this article gave you some additional insights into the many nuances the EoTS presents.