First Opposed EEO Game (with Panzerjaeger Hortland) - test 7

[el cid again]

This is a test of the "better" plan - to invade the Central Pacific in force in 1941 rather than 1942 -
which I am sure is too late. [By mid 1942 Oahu is not takable]

It is done with better overall planning and coordination than in a strictly historical scenario:

EEO is EOS with even more time to plan for war - since the end of 1937 - although it is hard to tell in Dec 1941
- the forces are still almost identical in all respects. [The changes are mostly on the way - and they are not all on one
side: the Allies will get many more aircraft and a number of important ships will appear in alternate form - mainly
CL as CVL, BC as CA (or in one RN case BB as CL), Midway as Essex - stuff like that.

The Japanesea are not really bigger - just better formed and organized. The same manpower, steel, aluminun - and slots.
But the need to send powerful forces to a different theater means there is less to send to the SRA - so the hoped for lack of Allied opposition is balanced by the smaller forces available to prosecute the strategic war aims. This in turn requires careful play:

we don't land on Kota Bahru - we land at Singora and march to Kota. We don't land on Port Moresby - IF we get there we will land at Kappa Kappa or march overland from Buna - and we will own local air bases to support either move.

An amphib sailor myself - I fear loss of transports still loaded - so I held all but small advance units - assembling them at a point NE of Wake - and covering them with the little carrier force. No invasion of Midway when the game begins - we are taking the direct approach - and the initial objective is Johnston island - to be a recon base - and eventually a forward repair base, bomber base and command base. This fell as planned on the first day - to a small naval infantry force - and small units were landed to build up the base (engineers) or defend it (coast defense, AAA). The only Ki-44s in the world - all 9 of them - were landed to defend it from air attack - arriving as cargo by AK. The second day I ordered up three elements of recon planes and two bomber squadrons (3 x 3 plus 2 x 9 = 27 planes) - all the new - armored - Ki-49. These planes will not enter production until mid - 1942 - and must be used carefully -- or be replaced by older types. But they should do well on the first days of the war - when enemy air power is knocked down. Also a unit of Mavis flying boats and one group of G4Ms. This is intended to support KB operations - with search - ASW - recon - and some attack power - so not all depends on the fragile carrier planes.

Naval raiders hit undefended Kona - to march overland vs Hilo - and elements of a reinforced Imperial Guards Brigade landed at Maui - in the hope of turning it into a forward base - but neiter Kona nor Maui were taken on the first day. Other operations must be many days or weeks out - due to sailing time from Wake - but Wake was taken and itself turned into a recon point (using seaplane carrier support and transferred in Mavis elements).


KB was both lucky and unlucky - coming in on the direct vector (similar to USN thinking) it found Halsey on its track - and engaged and sank USS Enterprise. Ominously - every F4F-3 fought to the death - scoring 3 kills on zeros for 17 of its own - non ever broke and ran. And AA at sea was pretty bad - reducing Kate units by about a third. But E never had a chance - attacking units tried to find her long after she was sunk - so she would have been even had she survived the first two waves. This means the Kates did NOT hit the battle fleet - although Vals did mess up the airfields on Oahu - a necessity to protect the advance amphibious force.

Surprisingly a full brigade air assault on Sinkuliwang failed to take it - and so the ships and planes there will escape. It should fall to a follow up assault on the second day. Miri fell to seaborne assault - it is undefended - and that dooms Brunei to overland assault in a week. Cagayan also failed to fall to airborne assault - but it will fall to a brigade amphib landing on the second day. Jolo - on the other hand - fell to an SNLF delivered by fast transprot - and they came with construction engineers. It will come up as a base fast. So will Cagayan.


The attack on Luzon is simplified to two points - Legaspi (unopposed) and San Fernando (almost unopposed). These are major force landings - and will result in advance air bases supporting reinforced division assaults in a few days. Never mind there are 14 or 15 divisions in the area - two reinforced divisions with air support will take Luzon quickly. Particularly since I intend to be tricky and go around his opposition points by unexpected routings - by road via Malinta Pass and by sea around Naga if he comes out to fight for it.


Submarine operations are stronger than in CVO - mainly because the pre war "mass production" plan for Ro-33 was implemented - also because fewer big boats were built in favor of Kaidai smaller (but still ocean going) vessels of good performance results in completion at earlier dates. This combines with my submarine orientation - and there were already successes - and will be more - because in these early days - with little ASW - I forward contest all the bases and choke points - or points far at sea likely to be traversed. Mines were laid where I am not going at places like Tahiti - and I defend minefields with submarines - which is both doctrinal and usually deadly.