Influence Wars - Japan 1936 HPP Interactive AAR - GAMEPLAY THREAD

Baltasar said:

It appears that we do have sufficient convoys, escorts and transport flotillas for the time being. Since we're short on IC already and we don't get any benefits from queuing up these ships, we should not waste ICs on these, at least for now.

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yes, I agree on this, but it is important to note that our drop off in consumption of IC should be counterbalanced by an increase in research expenditure in the naval department. Our carriers, light cruisers, and their doctrines must be up to date. This includes CAGs and their doctrines as well. This will provide a substantial help to the army in their campaign in china as our air power based on carriers will be able to assist in any naval landings and to a degree bomb ground resistance in china. Another bonus is this will be of valuable experience to our pilots of the carrier air groups (experience of unit) as well as the leaders of the carrier air groups (leader skill).

nightraid3r said:

yes, I agree on this, but it is important to note that our drop off in consumption of IC should be counterbalanced by an increase in research expenditure in the naval department.

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Fellow Admiral,
you might notice that the freed up ICs mainly come from the delayed BC, hence the battlefleet should benefit from any additional research we can run thanks to this. Fire control system training and battlefleet concentration doctrine spring to mind, as well as researching more modern BBs and BCs.

Baltasar said:

Fellow Admiral,
you might notice that the freed up ICs mainly come from the delayed BC, hence the battlefleet should benefit from any additional research we can run thanks to this. Fire control system training and battlefleet concentration doctrine spring to mind, as well as researching more modern BBs and BCs.

Click to expand...

The true strength of the Japanese fleet must remain in the Carriers. They are much faster than the battleship and hence the natural choice for the wide, open waters of the pacific ocean where our fleet could be needed anywhere at any time. Battleships may take too many extra hours to get to the scene of the battle, in which case it could already be decided decisively, and not in our favour.

There is no place the Battleships can not get in time. We do have several fleets with these powerful vessels placed around our empire. Should our enemies dare to attack our islands or ports, our garrisons will be able to withstand the assaults long enough until our battlefleets arrive to blast the enemy to pieces. Carriers only have their aircraft as weapons which can be good at spotting the enemy but lack the durability to damage large ships which have advanced anti air batteries such as our ships.

The following fleets will be created from the current mix of ships across the empire:

1st Fleet: 2x BB, 2x CA, 3x DD, commanded by Rear Admiral Koga Mineichi
2nd Fleet: 2x BB, 2x CA, 3x DD, commanded by Rear Admiral Yamamoto Isoroku
3rd Fleet: 1x CV, 1x CVL, 4x CL, commanded by Rear Admiral Nomura Kichisaburo
4th Fleet: 1x CV, 1x CVL, 4x CL, commanded by Vice Admiral Nagano Osami
5th Fleet: 2x BC, 4x CL, commanded by Nagumo Chichi

These fleets will form the backbone of our navy. The escorts will be selected so that they do not slow down their capital ships or limit their operational range. This does leave the older ships, submarines and transports.

The submarines will operate individually when reconnoiting enemy positions and in groups of two when operating against enemy supply lines.

6th Fleet: 1x BB, 1x BC, 2x CA, 3x DD, commanded by Rear Admiral Shimada Shigetaro
7th Fleet: 1x BB, 1x BC, 2x CA, 3x DD, commanded by Vice Admiral Kato Nitaro

These two fleets will act as blockading forces and thus will employ the older ships. They'll suffice against smaller navies and will be able to add some serious firepower if the army should so require it.

The remaining units will be detached to the Imperial Japanese Naval Reserve (IJNR). This pool contains:

8x Heavy Cruisers
7x Light Cruisers
14x Destroyer Flotillas
20x Transport Flotillas

Ships from the IJNR will be used to replace lost or damaged ships in the fleets. Furthermore, they will be dispatched to escort transport flotillas whenever the need arises and lastly, ASW groups can be formed from this source as well.

Operational plan: War with China​

In case of war with China, the fleets will deployed in this manner:

3rd Fleet: Gulf of Chihili
4th Fleet: Haizhou Wan
1st Fleet: Wangpen Yang
2nd Fleet: North Taiwan Straight

5th Fleet: Operational Reserve at Taiwan / Kaohsiung
6th Fleet: Truk
7th Fleet: Operational Reserve in Home Waters

3rd and 4th will blockade Chinese ports and lend their CAGs to the army. At the very least, they will ensure air supremacy within their area of operation. They will march south when the front advances.
1st and 2nd will likewise blockade the Chinese ports further south. 5th Fleet will act as immediate reseve in the theatre while 7th Fleet will be ready in our home waters if the enemy should slip through our fleets. 6th Fleet will secure our Pacific holdings from Truk.
Submarines will be places along the Chinese coast to recon their positions, surplus submarines will conduct convoy raids.

Operational plan: War with Russia​

The Battlefleets will blockade the Russian ports while the Carrier fleets will support the army with their CAGs. 6th Fleet will remain at Truk. Submarines will recon enemy positions and try to sink their convoys, although we do not expect many trade routes here.

Further plans for other opportunities will be published at a later date.


*Added commanders for the fleets. Commanders will have to be promoted.

Final Plan of the Imperial Japanese Army
[THIRD DRAFT PENDING FULL APPROVAL]

slightly changed by General Surt.

Status:
Gensui Yamamoto [SS] – Approved
General Veteran Lurker [SS] - Pending Approval* (ABSENT)
General Surt [SN] – Approved
General Comm Cody [SN] – Approved

Admiralty Stamp of Approval On Homeland Affairs and Naval Research - Pending Additions, Pending Approval

* Don't know if your still taking part???
** Minor moddification

I.
Our general major strategy should be to seek 'Major Power' status (100+ IC) then onto ‘Great Power’ status over the next few years via actions in China.



Let us remember our focus and overall stratergy. This general would also welcome the Navy's thoughts on the last point.

II.
1.a Continue to support the Warlord cliques (Yunnan and Guangxi) in western China
1.b Seek to, and repeatedly envoy Guangxi/Yunnan to sign a military alliance as they become threatened by the Kuomintang, and come to the axis corner if at “maybe” status.
2.Sign the Naval Treaties, as there is nothing to loose by doing so, other than face with the international community isolating ourselves from them. Good relations with the Colonial Powers needs to be fostered as long as possible for Japan’s long term prosperity.
3. Embargo the Chinese Communists, since communism stands against everything that we hold true and dear.

III.
1.a Continue the current factory constructions
1.b Replace as and when they are finished by new ones. Navy has Approved.
2.a Repeat build of 2/3xGar as reserve until all the following are properly garrisoned;

-Any port in mainland Japan, ie. where you can walk to from Tokyo, should have 3xGar(+Art)*.
-Any port on the Asian mainland should have 2xGar, including incompetent puppets ports.
-Any other pacific port should get 2xGar
-Any size 10 port should get 3xGar+(art)*, (that should be Truk and Kaohsiung on Taiwan).
-Any additional Garrisons to be formed to placed along the Soviet border

*2.b.I Build the pure garrisons first. Artillery should be constructed separately as a new stream to speed up garrison training. Artillery can be sited later, and individual garrisons can train with their guns while on site.

CLAUSE 2.b
We may need to start artillery builds at the beginning of 1938 in order that they will be ready come the end of the same period of garrison construction. Should all pure garrisons become finished during this time, then start on the Artillery brigades.

3. Build of as many 2xINF reserve divisions as the budget allows in parallel, and continue production as and when each are finished.

IV.
The IJA propose a 'research priority list'. I will separate it into three sections; Army, Naval and Homeland Affairs. Technologies at the top of each list are the highest priority.
"&" represents alternate between both programs.

This list will need to be updated every cabinet meeting, changing year, techs or processes. The list will be intended to require slightly more research programs than we can truly fund, such that as some projects are completed others can be started on.

Techs should be allocated by one from each sector, until total research capacity is filled. ---> research projects still retain tenure in the list until date is met. This means that we have recognised them as a long term investment than a single cycle tech now.

No ahead of time except:
*If a tech is before the year by less then a month (e.g. it is Dec '36, but the tech is a '37 tech (ie. 1 month before time), still begin research for competitive advantage)

Note: Homeland Affairs will need Navy ratification.

Homeland Affairs
Industrial Efficiency*
Industrial Production *
Supplies Production
Repair Workshops
Fighter Defence doctrine & Interception Tactics & Central Fighter Command Structure

Supply throughput*
Supply Cost*
Rare Materials*
Combat radios
Education*
Radar*(only first *)

IJA
Heavy Fighters*
Manportable AT
Officers & Infantry Training & Artillery Training
Small Arms*
Artillery Barrel & Artillery Sights

Offensive Support Weapons
Arctic Warfare Equipment
AT Barrel & AT Sights & AA Barrel & AA Sights
Defensive Support Weapons
Ftr Ground Crew Training & Ftr Pilot Training (either as as good as either)
AC armour & Gun
CAS Ground Crew Training & Ftr Pilot Training
Central Air Command Structure & Communication Line Interdiction.

Should there be any left over slots after all the above is up to date:
L.Arm Gun 2 & Reliability 2 & Engine 2 & Truck Engine.
- Level 2 to open for medium armour and thereby for TD.

Filled in a couple more techs from 1st half year as its uncertain they were selected for research there.


I believe that given less troops per division, they will need to have the best equipment that Japan can offer, they not only need to be contemporary, but world class to some degree. We can debate alternations/order if you feel we need some different order to things.

We should still start future techs out of year techs slightly before the next year, this keeps us at a competitive advantage, even if it costs slightly more.
- I've removed all ahead of time except the 1 month, we must discuss this further, but for now we must have a plan for 2nd half '36, too much to catch up on in the first year.

IJN
Marines*

Admiralty might want to specify some for your list, or you can allow the Emperor to dictate along the lines of your proposals. Note: CAG and Air Doctrines will be considered Naval Technologies, as per Naval Aviation focus from our sitting minister.

[Clarified notation, and ahead of time research notation error. If there are other mistakes its because I don't have a list in my mind of the current tech levels in everything]

V.
1. Form the 'Mobile Divisions' from existing units, and move to eastern Manchuria

--Division: 19 Hohei (Unchanged)
--Division: 20 Hohei (Unchanged)
--Division: 01 "Kamikaze" (Divine Wind) (1xMOT 1xLARM 1xAC 1xCAV)
--Division: 01 (2xINF 1xIST 1xENG)
--Division: 02 (2xINF 1xIST 1xENG)
--Division: 01 (2xMOT 2xAC)
--Division: 02 (2xMOT 2xAC)

2.a Form as many 'Line Divisions' from the existing units

-Division: 01 "Batorurain" (2xINF 1xART)
...

-Division: 01 "Mobairusoruja" (2xINF 1xAC)
...

-Divisions: 01 (2xINF 1xENG)
...

2.b Form as many as possible of these units into corps of 4 divisions in the ratio;
2xBatorurain
1xMobairusoruja
+
1xEngineer
or
1x'Mobile division'

2.c Army groups can now be flexible filled with 1-4 of these. With surplus armies waiting to be filled.

3. The 6 Cav divisions of 2xCav should receive a AC to beef them up a little until we got Inf divisions that needs them. Organized in 2 corps.

CLAUSE 3.: Cavalry with AC should be kept away from long fronts with low in this set up since they can run away with more fuel then we think.

[Gave a step by step process, and suggested overall organisation]

Admiral Baltasar,
I've looks a bit at the stats of your fleets, at the moment it doesn't matter much as the 2 CVL sail at 28 NMH and the 2 CV at 30 and 32, but if you build faster vessels, they should not be paired with the slow CVL's as they would slow it all down.
CVL's should be on ASW duty with some same speed DD or CL, yes I know its not very Samuraisk to protect convoys, but it is really needed to suppress enemy activities or all our oversea possessions would be threatened.

General Surt,

I appreciate your consideration, but the fleet disposition is not something we plan ahead for decades. Ships will be built and hence the fleets will change. The disposition will suffice for now.

For the general consumption of all of the Imperial Staff:
Most Steadfast Generals and Seaworthy Admirals

As result of the deplorable incident 2-2-36 we should increase our control of the press so there is less chance of disruptive reports.
The best way should be to place an official in all press agencies and newspaper in addition to the state radio.
In effect this would implement a State Press.

Awaiting your comments on this touchy subject.

Plan Approved

While we could possibly look to futher recorganise the ministry, I don't believe there is any pressing need as of this moment to do so. Having said that, a state press would do well to help our homeland support of our foreign policies.

Additional Motion supported

Final IJN Plan for Q2 '36

Admiral Doombunny: pending approval*
Admiral nightraid3r: Approved
Admiral Baltasar: Approved

*Not sure if you are back home already from your holidays

We reject the idea of restricting ourselves while others don't. Thus we do not sign the second treaty of London. While it may imply benefits diplomatically, it is unhonorable to sign it and thus limiting ourselves unneccessarily.

We advocate to abandon intelligence operations abroad while retaining a maximum of intelligence operatives in Japan to lower our neutrality.

To help our diplomatic efforts, we would encourage trade deals with the USA.

We support the army proposal II.3, Embargo against Communist China.

We still encourage to invest into marines, their doctrines and equipment. Most of this investment will benefit the army as well. Furthermore, we need to invest into light cruiser technologies as well as fleet doctrines for both battleship and carrier fleets.

We furthermore suggest to concentrate all our air efforts on CAGs. While they are not a perfect tool for every situation, they are sufficient in most situations. This would also result in fewer doctrines neccessary for our air arm in general to be effective and the army could lend CAGs from the navy if when the front advances too far away to use them from carriers. We then also are able to rotate our wings in an out of combat operations without delay and without concerns regarding their effectiveness since all wings will be composed of the same mixture of planes. Last but not least, concentrating on just one kind of wing would ease the strain on our industry. We would appreciate a comment by the army on this proposal.

Referring to the army proposal for a research priority list (army plan, section IV):

We do support the idea and share the opinion about researching ahead of time. The IJN list:

IJN
continue the current IJN related projects as and when they are currently sceduled. Add these projects:
Fire Control
Battleship concentration doctrine
BB engines
BB AA
BB armor
capital ship main armament


Production:
We acknowledge the need to upgrade our forces, especially the army. Hence the IJN offers to not replace the destroyer flotilla with another run once it finishes by the end of March. Instead, the industrial capacity should be diverted to upgrades (freeing 5.70 IC)
I personally offer to put the construction of the BC Ibuku on hold for 6 months. This will mean almost 10 (9.70) IC more for 6 months in upgrades. Should the need for upgrades be satisfied earlier, the construction should continue. If the army could spare one additional research project for the navy in exchange, this would be highly appreciated.

Other production plans should be continued (ie Factories etc). However, we are of the opinion that it would be faster to occupy China and thereby gaining sufficient industrial inpact to be recognized as a major power.


The following fleets will be created from the current mix of ships across the empire:

1st Fleet: 2x BB, 2x CA, 3x DD, commanded by Rear Admiral Koga Mineichi
2nd Fleet: 2x BB, 2x CA, 3x DD, commanded by Rear Admiral Yamamoto Isoroku
3rd Fleet: 1x CV, 1x CVL, 4x CL, commanded by Rear Admiral Nomura Kichisaburo
4th Fleet: 1x CV, 1x CVL, 4x CL, commanded by Vice Admiral Nagano Osami
5th Fleet: 2x BC, 4x CL, commanded by Nagumo Chichi

These fleets will form the backbone of our navy. The escorts will be selected so that they do not slow down their capital ships or limit their operational range. This does leave the older ships, submarines and transports.

The submarines will operate individually when reconnoiting enemy positions and in groups of two when operating against enemy supply lines.

6th Fleet: 1x BB, 1x BC, 2x CA, 3x DD, commanded by Rear Admiral Shimada Shigetaro
7th Fleet: 1x BB, 1x BC, 2x CA, 3x DD, commanded by Vice Admiral Kato Nitaro

These two fleets will act as blockading forces and thus will employ the older ships. They'll suffice against smaller navies and will be able to add some serious firepower if the army should so require it. The commanders of all fleets will recieve promotions fitting their new postings.

The remaining units will be detached to the Imperial Japanese Naval Reserve (IJNR). This pool contains:

8x Heavy Cruisers
7x Light Cruisers
14x Destroyer Flotillas
20x Transport Flotillas

Ships from the IJNR will be used to replace lost or damaged ships in the fleets. Furthermore, they will be dispatched to escort transport flotillas whenever the need arises and lastly, ASW groups can be formed from this source as well. ASW groups should roughly be made up by one light cruiser as flottila leader and 2 to 3 destroyer flotillas.

Operational plan: War with China​

In case of war with China, the fleets will deployed in this manner:

3rd Fleet: Gulf of Chihili
4th Fleet: Haizhou Wan
1st Fleet: Wangpen Yang
2nd Fleet: North Taiwan Straight

5th Fleet: Operational Reserve at Taiwan / Kaohsiung
6th Fleet: Truk
7th Fleet: Operational Reserve in Home Waters

3rd and 4th will blockade Chinese ports and lend their CAGs to the army. At the very least, they will ensure air supremacy within their area of operation. They will march south when the front advances.
1st and 2nd will likewise blockade the Chinese ports further south. 5th Fleet will act as immediate reseve in the theatre while 7th Fleet will be ready in our home waters if the enemy should slip through our fleets. 6th Fleet will secure our Pacific holdings from Truk.
Submarines will be places along the Chinese coast to recon their positions, surplus submarines will conduct convoy raids.

Operational plan: War with Russia​

The Battlefleets will blockade the Russian ports while the Carrier fleets will support the army with their CAGs. 6th Fleet will remain at Truk. Submarines will recon enemy positions and try to sink their convoys, although we do not expect many trade routes here.

Further plans for other opportunities will be published at a later date.

I agree with admiral baltasar, but i suggest the following deployment of our transport ships:
1st transport fleet: 2x CA 3x DD 6x TP
2nd transport fleet: 2x CA 3x DD 6x TP
3rd transport fleet: 2x CA 3x DD 4x TP
4th transport fleet: 2x CA 3x DD 4x TP

nightraid3r said:

I agree with admiral baltasar, but i suggest the following deployment of our transport ships:
1st transport fleet: 2x CA 3x DD 6x TP
2nd transport fleet: 2x CA 3x DD 6x TP
3rd transport fleet: 2x CA 3x DD 4x TP
4th transport fleet: 2x CA 3x DD 4x TP

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Dear Admiral,
I didn't forward a plan for transport fleets because I assumed that they would primarily be used by the army since our envisaged Marine corps will be small anyway. Furthermore, I would like to be able to replace damaged or lost ships with ships from the fleet reserve, so our active fleets can remain in action even if they suffer damage in combat. Transport fleets can be assembled ad hoc, likewise we can assemble and dispatch ASW squadrons or scout cruiser squadrons.

Baltasar said:

Dear Admiral,
I didn't forward a plan for transport fleets because I assumed that they would primarily be used by the army since our envisaged Marine corps will be small anyway. Furthermore, I would like to be able to replace damaged or lost ships with ships from the fleet reserve, so our active fleets can remain in action even if they suffer damage in combat. Transport fleets can be assembled ad hoc, likewise we can assemble and dispatch ASW squadrons or scout cruiser squadrons.

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I don't want to fill our old fleets with the really old great war ships. I think all of the ships we use for the transport fleets should be these old ships with no upgrades (i.e. base levels) anything with upgrades should be used for the main battlefleets. Replacing the upgraded ships with the junky ships in reserve will simply slow down the old fleets. We will need to replace lost ships with newly created ones in order to keep the integrity of our fleet speed which is crucial for the pacific war.

nightraid3r said:

I don't want to fill our old fleets with the really old great war ships. I think all of the ships we use for the transport fleets should be these old ships with no upgrades (i.e. base levels) anything with upgrades should be used for the main battlefleets. Replacing the upgraded ships with the junky ships in reserve will simply slow down the old fleets. We will need to replace lost ships with newly created ones in order to keep the integrity of our fleet speed which is crucial for the pacific war.

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While I agree that we need more modern ships to replace our outdated models, we are not in a position to simply scrap the old ones just yet. I for my part would prefer to draw undamaged but old ships instead of running into a shortage of escorts. Once we do have newer ships, we certainly can form transport fleets and possibly even hand the army some of them. However, until we do not have sufficient modern replacements, I think we do need this pool of ships. If the carrier branch prefers not to draw upon this reserve, they're certainly free not to do so.