ORIGINAL: ny59giants
If you haven't done so already, transport in some engineers and an Aviation Rgt to China. At least one of your southern bases should be built up to AF 5 or 6 and base some 4e bombers (B-17/24). Set for about 30 to 50% naval search with Naval Attack/Rest. Make the waters between Luzon and Formosa a little too hot for unescorted AK/TK. With a heavy CAP over the base, he will have trouble getting to your bombers.
Looking ahead from this idea, you can move more quickly to take Admiralty Island and/or Truk to put the southern route from Java/Borneo at risk. Its time to slow down the flow of Oil into the Home Islands. No Oil leads to less fuel and eventually no more Heavy Industry. Force him to live off reserves.
Big B 1.4 hase lots of AV support tagged for China that magically has already appeared at Chungking. AV support is over 500 there with a level 9 AB.
I am really conflicted as to my next moves after the Wake/Marcus ops. The problem is that I have two forces driving me that are at odd's with one another.
Force One - Oil
I recently spent some time looking around the map and got a real feel for where Larry's oil resources are located. There is a small amount in Japan, a small amount in China, and a very small amount on Formosa. The rest is all in the SRA. So that creates the desire to hamper as much flow out of here as I can. I could divert all my resources to this area and reconquer Java, Bornea and Sumutra. That is much easier said then done. More appealing is instead to take back Timor, and eventually Makassar thus plugging up the eastern route out of the SRA. I can then use bases in China and eventually Indochina (hopefully) to interdict the western route. This is both less costly and more importantly could be accomplished more quickly. Also, because of the close knit network of bases, it could largely be accomplished with LBA. I am willing to send my carriers to the SRA but if Larry knows they are there, that leaves CentPac vulnerable. Also, Padang still is dangling out there like a big piece of meat on a stick. Occupy and build that base up and Palembang becomes untenable for Larry. The equation is simple: the Japanese economy runs on equal parts oil and resources. There are more than enough resources close to Japan. The oil is what is vulnerable.
Force Two - B29's
The first squadrons arrive in about 100 days at Karachi. At present, only Rangoon is an option for a base to reach any resource/oil centers. We have a HR that states no bombing of the economy in China or from China - ergo no basing B-29's in Chingking. I have no problem with this rule as the USAAF very quickly abandoned their attempt to bomb mainland Japan from China as the logistics tail was just too long and tenuous. This is why I am moving on Bangkok. At present, the Japanese troop strength in Siam and Indochina is pretty pathetic: a big stack at Bangkok and no more than three units anywhere else. So while this may be a slugfest, the end benefit may outweigh the costs. If Capt Mandrake can do it; so can I. If Bangkok falls, I may be able to steam roll all the way to Saigon. Looking around the map, the only other suitable bases for B-29 use are the Marianas, Okinawa, Formosa, and Salkalin Is. Obviously the last three would require a bold, deep strike by me to get them up and running in the near future. I am no Canoerebel. So that means the Marianas.
Trouble is that I am at present about six months ahead of the historical timetable. In six months my CV fleet will double in size and my CVE fleet will quadruple in size. That will make the whole thing a lot easier but I don't want to wait that long. At present I have enourmous IJA resources tied down in China. In six months, Larry could easily extricate himself from this bind and greatly reinforce all these objectives. So I need to strike now before my opportunites evaporate.
Operation Crunched to Crap is important for this reason: the weather in Burma has been horrid for three solid weeks now. Except for a few breaks, Japanese air losses have fallen a lot. I need to rip apart Larry's Aircraft Pools and put a wrench in his pilot training program before he can rebuild. Burma was the one place where I was putting enough pressure on him where Larry could not afford to cut and run. He abandoned NG long ago except for the occasional attempt to sneak some a/c for a turn or two. He has abandoned the Marshalls too (present impending action at Kwajalein notwithstanding). Even if my offensive in China forces him to just withdraw all his airpower, that at least freezes his poorly trained pilots in place.
So the quandry is this: at present I do not have the forces to accomplish both tasks in short order. I have to choose. I keep flipflopping on it. Fortunately I have the Wake, Marcus and Bikini ops to occupy me for about two months. Beyond that I have to make my choice. SoPac is done after Buin. If I do anything with those forces other than roll them into CentPac, it will be either northern NG or Ulithi. SWPAC is heading for Timor - the only question is how fast
"We have met the enemy and they are ours" - Commodore O.H. Perry
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