Ideas please!!!

[IanLister]

First the background.
I'm playing Historical Allies v AI scenario42B...the campaign starting with Guadalcanal. It's December 26th and this is the story so far:
SWPAC: Lunga, PM and GG strong and controlling air over the Solomons. In battles around Guadalcanal I've traded Wasp for Shokaku, Junyo, Ryujo and Zuiho, and in a series of rather disappointing moves the AI has sent BB groups to cruise in daylight off Lunga, losing Yamato, Yamashiro, Hyuga, Nagato and Mutsu to my Cactus SBDs. There have even been daylight surface battles off Lunga...so much for the Tokyo Express!!![:(]
The Central Pacific thrust has begun - I'm out to prove it would work on its own. The Gilberts were invaded and captured using Baker I as a base, and I'm building for a hop to Jaluit, then the rest of the Marshalls.
The problem is Burma. I landed a small force at Akyab to try and put some pressure on the Japs at Mandaly AF. The AI sent five divs and 9 other units to contest Akyab after I captured it, and I backed up my forces with reinforcements. It's been 100,000 each side now for 3 months and just stalemate. Bombardment TF living in hex, 100 bombers living at Akyab, bombardment or deliberate attacks every turn, I've landed down the coast and cut the supply line, I've sent the Chindits south to the outskirts of Rangoon, caturing Mandalay etc on the way...BUT I CAN'T SHIFT THE JAPS FROM AKYAB

[Primal Fury]

It sounds like you have things well in hand aside from Burma. My suggestion for Burma is to establish complete air superiority there. Move in all kinds of fighter and fly lots of sweeps. Once you have that, maybe you can make an end run via sea to cut off supplies to the 100000 japanese.

Other than that, I would suggest trying to create a situation where the rest of the japanese carrer force must come out to fight and they can be attrited.

My 2 cents.

[ZOOMIE1980]

ORIGINAL: IanLister

First the background.
I'm playing Historical Allies v AI scenario42B...the campaign starting with Guadalcanal. It's December 26th and this is the story so far:
SWPAC: Lunga, PM and GG strong and controlling air over the Solomons. In battles around Guadalcanal I've traded Wasp for Shokaku, Junyo, Ryujo and Zuiho, and in a series of rather disappointing moves the AI has sent BB groups to cruise in daylight off Lunga, losing Yamato, Yamashiro, Hyuga, Nagato and Mutsu to my Cactus SBDs. There have even been daylight surface battles off Lunga...so much for the Tokyo Express!!![:(]
The Central Pacific thrust has begun - I'm out to prove it would work on its own. The Gilberts were invaded and captured using Baker I as a base, and I'm building for a hop to Jaluit, then the rest of the Marshalls.
The problem is Burma. I landed a small force at Akyab to try and put some pressure on the Japs at Mandaly AF. The AI sent five divs and 9 other units to contest Akyab after I captured it, and I backed up my forces with reinforcements. It's been 100,000 each side now for 3 months and just stalemate. Bombardment TF living in hex, 100 bombers living at Akyab, bombardment or deliberate attacks every turn, I've landed down the coast and cut the supply line, I've sent the Chindits south to the outskirts of Rangoon, caturing Mandalay etc on the way...BUT I CAN'T SHIFT THE JAPS FROM AKYAB

Well, this theater was pretty much a stalemate in history until the very end (1945). Jungle warfare was a great equalizer for either side. Just have to keep pounding and pounding and pounding, I suppose....

[UncleBuck]

Do you know where they are gettign thoer supply from? If the Japanese ahve dedicated 100K in troops to Akyab then they are seriously short somewhere, strike that. It seems that they may have left a small garrison force at thier supply HQ for teh area. 100K in troops is an awful lot they have to be using great deal of supply. They are coming from somewhere. Maybe a raid to the likely supply route to the main supply base is in order, a 5 day disruption in the supply chain could be enough to run the 100K troops out of supply and hurt the supply base as well.

UB

[IanLister]

The land supply route to Akyab is the road/track from Rangoon. I cut it over a month ago in 2 places, and it has stayed cut. A couple of times they have tried resupply by sea, and I've sunk the lot. I have total air superiority........there's not much more I can do.
I would think by now they'd be banzai charging their way to suicide so I could get on with the war[:@].

[UncleBuck]

Ian,

According to one of hte other threads try just husbanding your troops and bombard them daily. Even if you cause no casualties it disrupts them apparently leading to thier demise from starvation since you cut off thier supply.

[IanLister]

The Battle of Akyab is over - 8th Jan 1943. I rested my troops for two days, set the altitude of my bombers to: Wellingtons and B24s 4000ft, B25s and other light bombers and fighters 100ft. After 2 days of that, and the 6 BB bombardment, I set a deliberate attack which resulted in 3 to 1 and the main Jap divisions, 33rd, 55th, 56th and 18th retreated. A shock attack against the 9 remaining units, mainly tanks and artillery next turn resulted in a 27 to 1 score and now the foe is in full flight towards Rangoon.......except I have 2 Indian divs and a tank brigade standin the way.

Worth pointing out: the medium and heavy bombers from 15000 ft were causing 50-300 casualties a day, but from low altitude 2000+ were being killed. It's worth thinking about when you have the air battle under control.

Now it's on to Rangoon, Singapore and the obliteration of the oilfields by a strategic bomber offensive, while Nimitz takes the Marshalls and heads for the Phillipines - over by Christmas 43...........perhaps.[8|]

[UncleBuck]

Ian,

Great glad it worked out. Looks like it was just a matter of Patience. Are you planning to use those 2 div, to stop the JP and punish them or are you looking to let them retreat past?

[IanLister]

Trapped between the block and thepursuit, one attack and the whole lot surrendered![:)]

[kev_uk]

ORIGINAL: IanLister

The Battle of Akyab is over - 8th Jan 1943. I rested my troops for two days, set the altitude of my bombers to: Wellingtons and B24s 4000ft, B25s and other light bombers and fighters 100ft. After 2 days of that, and the 6 BB bombardment, I set a deliberate attack which resulted in 3 to 1 and the main Jap divisions, 33rd, 55th, 56th and 18th retreated. A shock attack against the 9 remaining units, mainly tanks and artillery next turn resulted in a 27 to 1 score and now the foe is in full flight towards Rangoon.......except I have 2 Indian divs and a tank brigade standin the way.

Worth pointing out: the medium and heavy bombers from 15000 ft were causing 50-300 casualties a day, but from low altitude 2000+ were being killed. It's worth thinking about when you have the air battle under control.

Now it's on to Rangoon, Singapore and the obliteration of the oilfields by a strategic bomber offensive, while Nimitz takes the Marshalls and heads for the Phillipines - over by Christmas 43...........perhaps.[8|]

What were your aircraft losses like with those low altitudes? I know the sweet spot in UV was ~5/6000ft, anything lower would decimate squadrons...

[Matt Erickson]

Ack! those are terrible IJN losses,guesss the ai still blows[:(] there is no way in hell they should send in the yamato in daylight,alsoi there is no weay in hell the cactus could drop a super battleship.jeez they could not even sink a ww1 era battlecruiser,this is looking more an more like a wait an see purchase,BTW is thing gonna show up in stores?

[IanLister]

Kev
Losses were acceptable, mainly damaged. Probably due to low Jap supplies and high disruption and fatigue, though I like to think my B24Ds popped up in a hover like AH64Ds, with just the radar peeping asnthey let fly with the Hellfires....whoops, wrong game!!!!

Matt
This is the best game I have ever played by a very long way. The AI isn't perfect, but it's pretty good and extremely variable......don't make the mistake of waiting. Buy it!

[UncleBuck]

Cool! That must mean that the Blocking force really cut thier Supply. They outnumbered you and they gave up , no bullets no bang, bang.

UB

[UncleBuck]

Matt,

Don't wait. the game is good. The amount of time he held up the Japanese along with having to use a strategy to strangle them was Key to the ground victory. AS for the Aircraft Killign a sSUper Batleship, well according to Ian it was not teh Cactus Airforce there it was more like the 15th AF. The Yamato was tough but if you have several divisons of IJA running out of supply withh no chance to evac them wouldn't you send in some Heavy bombardment forces to try and force teh issue in your favor? Them sinking it just go to show that they are not in-vulnerable. I woudl bet that barring one of the new magic hits that eh Yamoto took a terrific beating before she went down.

[IanLister]

Uncle,
You're right about the Akyab battle - my superior tactics beat the computer, but then I beat it at football, basketball etc. I'm just too scared to play PBEM.
As for the Yamato, it arrived off Lunga one morning, took 16 1000lb bombs and 4 Beaufort torpedoes, stayed overnight, was hit by 67 8" shells and 3 more torpedoes, and then sank the following morning after 18 more bomb hits. I guess this proves:
1. damage model is about right
2. AI needs to employ an admiral who understands about night fighting. This was the disappointing bit.

Interestingly, with not 1 Jap squad left on Lunga, a Jap tanker force showed up there the day before the Yamato......I suppose it was there to replenish the BBs. I wonder what they did with all the fuel when the Yamato and Mutsu went down.

[UncleBuck]

Probably soiled your Beaches, at least I would hope so if the Catus Air Force hammered the Yamato.