Fabertong vs Speedy: The view from the Pole

[fabertong]

10th April 1943......
A quiet day at the front......with my airgroups pulling out of Burma......Speedy's milkruns over Mytk.....and the railine returned....
He swept Mandalay with lighnings but nothing to shoot down.......
Speedy is now doing daily bombing misions at Chungking....protected by an est. 130 fighters.....
3rd Const. Bat. arrived at Marcus today......along with a SNLF.........
2 ARs heading for Guam as I prep for fleet action in the area....will try to get a fleet HQ in to Guam in the next month or so.....
Will post map soon with Cen.Pac. layout......as I am changing my unit set up here......and lay out my Cen.Pac. and South Pac. Defense plans.........
The North is still building up forts and mines.......but no new Troops will be allocated here...and I've moved out some air units...

[fabertong]

11th and 12th of April 1943......
The build up of the Cen Pac continues with the Yok. Res. coastal Art. arriving at Wake..........
Sunk a Dutch KV boat......always good to see the back of those....but lost an I-boat off Fiji.........
Speedy carries on bombing Burma back to the stone age........but the raids on Kendari have stopped.......

[fabertong]

Here is just a quick peek at how my Cen. Pac. defenses are progressing......
Decided to re-route the Imp. G. Div to Wake rather than hold in reserve at Saipan......I learned from Attu/Kiska that if Speedy attacks...getting reinforcements in is very hard......and if he still goes North I can move from Wake quite quickly......

[Capt. Harlock]

Decided to re-route the Imp. G. Div to Wake rather than hold in reserve at Saipan

The Imperial Guards?? Aren't they the largest division in the IJA? It's a question whether there would have been room for them in a small place like Wake.

[fabertong]

I've built a kind of bunk bed system on Wake........two tier foxholes and bunkers....

[niceguy2005]

It will be interesting to see if Speedy goes North or if he goes through Central Pac. How are Truk and Palau?

[fabertong]

Truk and Palau are support bases...with not much there at the moment...the line to the south of Ein. is Tarawa....Lunga......Gili....PM.....around to Timor...all well protected....
In fleet terms the only other major force is a CV force at Truk......1CV,1CVL.........

[fabertong]

Another day and Speedy continues to bomb Burma back to the stone age.........Todau Mandalay was reduced to rubble.........he really wants Burma.........so I've stripped the PIs of their only combat unit the 4th Div. on It's way to Bangkok........to join the 61st Div......+ 3 more coming from China.......It will take 60 days to assemble.....I'll hold them back from the front lines and advance them together as a unified force......rather than drip feed them in....to give Steven little time to react....hopefully.......
Kendari was also hit hard......68 res. hit........my LRCAP was resting....a clear mistake......he'll probably head to Amboina tommorow.....if not hell meet 70+ Fighters over Kendari.......
Lot's of sub activity around Wake....and still no sign of the LRB campaign in the North......my evil eye is firmly fixed on CenPac.......
Now I have to figure out how to stop him.......if he comes with every thing.....which, judging by history he will...... I'm not sure I can.......
First I need Kaga to upgrade..........then.....Akagi and her will move to support Saipan.

[niceguy2005]

ORIGINAL: fabertong

Truk and Palau are support bases...with not much there at the moment...the line to the south of Ein. is Tarawa....Lunga......Gili....PM.....around to Timor...all well protected....
In fleet terms the only other major force is a CV force at Truk......1CV,1CVL.........

Sounds like a wide perimeter. It must be earlier in the Allied offensive than I thought. You still hold Lunga in 43. Not bad at all.

[fabertong]

Niceguy.....wide, yes.....my idea is not to stop the first invasion....but to bleed it.....Timor is the hardest to support.....after Nells and Betty's become toothless.......
As for Lunga.....I hit that and PM in spring '42 with everything that I had......Steven saw it coming and withdrew....a good move......he has only used LRB in this theatre in the last 6 months......I am very strong here....with good units and some exp. air groups......
I think he has had a look and decided to go elsewhere............
but I could still be very wrong.......

[fabertong]

April 22nd 1943.....
Koepang hit by 150+ allied bombers as Speedy's roadshow moves on from Kendari.......he lost 5 planes.....I lost 2 Tony's and 5 Zero's.......
Burma bombed....again.....and again......etc....etc....
I hit the Spearfish......looks badly hurt.......
Speedy hit an AP....she will sink......
The Imp. G. Div unloaded at Wake.........Wake up to 780 APs.....
23rd Mixed Brig. left Canton......Dest. Guam......
Just another day in the war....

[fabertong]

May 1943...........has arrived.......

Over the last few days........
I decided to sweep Kunming.......150 mixed Tony's and Tojo's encountered 45 Spit's........and I lost 60 aircraft to Speedys 30.........ouch....but I had to see what my 50 level pilots could do......not much......
Some p-40s have also been seen in China....as, I suspect, Chinese airgroups upgrade.......soon China will be as bad as Burma...with the allies having complete air supremacy....
I did manage to hurt Speedy over Kendari.......stopping...at least for a short time...his LRB road show......I wonder where it will turn up next......

[niceguy2005]

ORIGINAL: fabertong

I did manage to hurt Speedy over Kendari.......stopping...at least for a short time...his LRB road show......I wonder where it will turn up next......

I hear they're playing Buffalo next week.

[fabertong]

ORIGINAL: niceguy2005

ORIGINAL: fabertong

I did manage to hurt Speedy over Kendari.......stopping...at least for a short time...his LRB road show......I wonder where it will turn up next......

I hear they're playing Buffalo next week.

Wherever they go they trash the place.......

A quiet day or two with endless bombing in Burma .........
Speedy in a turn e-mail said that SigInt.......had given him some big news.......nosey b*stards......the bane of a Jap. commanders life......I don't know what the info was.......maybe my massing of troops in Burma.....I hope not......
Speedy's spring offensive can't be far away....and my carrier pilots are all still mostly under 50 exp........
I need to find a way to bring what force I have to bear at the point of impact......
I will outline plans in the next few days.....but it will be more or less the same Idea as Op. Divine Comedy.........

[Mike Solli]

What's your carrier force look like?

[fabertong]

I have the big 6 split into 3x2 forces....
Kaga and Akagi....at Tokyo Kaga about to upgrade.....will stay in the HI till Speedy shows his hand.....
Hiryu and Soryu.....at Saipan.....
Zuikaku and Shokaku.....at Osaka...just upgraded....will join Hiryu and Soryu at Saipan....

At Truk I have Hiyo and 1 CVL......

My CVEs are scattered all over on various missions.....

[fabertong]

May 10th 1943.....

The calm before the storm continues.....but were will Speedy strike....
Steven tried a Del.attack on the railine in Burma.....but his heart wasn't in it......he lost about 1500 troops to my 450.....but not enough losses to prompt a counter attack as we both have about 85,000 troops on the line.....

In three weeks I'll move another 100,00......on to the line then we will see........
Kaga still on 7 sys and refusing to upgrade...that's 3 weeks on 7 sys.......

[rtrapasso]

ORIGINAL: fabertong

May 10th 1943.....

The calm before the storm continues.....but were will Speedy strike....
Steven tried a Del.attack on the railine in Burma.....but his heart wasn't in it......he lost about 1500 troops to my 450.....but not enough losses to prompt a counter attack as we both have about 85,000 troops on the line.....

In three weeks I'll move another 100,00......on to the line then we will see........
Kaga still on 7 sys and refusing to upgrade...that's 3 weeks on 7 sys.......

Sounds like the "won't repair" bug. Try forming a TF with Kaga in it, then immediately disband it (i.e. - all in the same turn). Sometimes the AI gets stuck in a loop about repairing a ship, and it won't repair until you do this...[8|]

[fabertong]

Thanks Robert....will try next turn......

[fabertong]

11th may 1943........
My asw caught the Searaven off Java and sank her........
The 63rd Div. arrives in 20 days ...she will replace the Imp. G. Div. at Wake with the Imps heading to Truk in reserve.....
Other than that all is quiet.....
Except for Speedy's Burma bombing campaign