Taking Truk

[ruffels]

Hi
I was just wondering if anyone has tried taking Truk? I'm playing against the AI and it is Oct 43. Right now I'm planning to use the 24th and 25th Infantry plus an understrength 3rd Marine. I've been pounding it with Bombers from Kavieng for over a month and now have an Air Combat fleet doing ground attacks every day from just off shore.

I see that there is a Naval Fortress, at least 2 Divisons plus a regiment and God knows what else there. I'm starting to have second thoughts. I'd like it as a staging base for Saipan, Guam and Tinian. What are your experiences?

Thanks

Jim Parker

[chesmart]

Dont attack truk with less than 5 divisions fully preped, that place has level 9 forts and a lot of units.

[Bullwinkle58]

ORIGINAL: ruffels

Hi
I was just wondering if anyone has tried taking Truk? I'm playing against the AI and it is Oct 43. Right now I'm planning to use the 24th and 25th Infantry plus an understrength 3rd Marine. I've been pounding it with Bombers from Kavieng for over a month and now have an Air Combat fleet doing ground attacks every day from just off shore.

I see that there is a Naval Fortress, at least 2 Divisons plus a regiment and God knows what else there. I'm starting to have second thoughts. I'd like it as a staging base for Saipan, Guam and Tinian. What are your experiences?

Thanks

Jim Parker

1. You haven't got enough stuff planned by at least 300-400%.
2. Why bother? You can stage the Marianas from PH, with fuel and supplies at Eniwetok.

I tried to take Truk in WITP against the AI, just for grins. There were 41 LCUs there, over 100,000 infantry and about 250,000 secondary troops. I doubt that's the case in AE, but two entrenched divisions in an amphib invasion? You better bring the whole store.

And do not underestimate a true naval fortress. You'll lose dozens of transports and you capital ships will be beat to mush. If you have a day or two, play Andy Mac's Marianas invasion scenario as the Allies, and just go for Saipan. It has a naval fortress. It would be illustrative.

[spence]

Sounds like a great place to establish a IJA POW/internment camp. Go up and over, down and under or around it while continuing to bomb the airfield and port (get rid of their supplies and all those soldiers will become mostly peaceful farmers as they did IRL).

[awadley]

Use it to train new TF in bombardment and Air units in bombing, but bypass it.  I trained all my TF's around there and moved on.

[carnifex]

[LST Express]

Tried it in my first ever game vs witp ai and saw 2 inf divisions just flat disappear! Haven't tried it since but will give it another try vs ae ai. In pbem game, probably not.

[AcePylut]

Why not?  Something tells me that PBEM Jappers "might"  think "there's no way he'd invade truk", and as such, leave it fairly threadbare of AV, enough to where a quick snatch and grab might work. 
 
Against the AI, this won't work.

[Smeulders]

Even if he defends it, almost certainly not with 5 divisions.

[witpqs]

In WITP there were serious problems with the code if you the Allies took Truk. Any merchant ships disbanded there would become stuck as an artifact of Truk being a major hub for the IJ auto-convoy routine's. This was true against the AI, but I do not know if it also happened against live opponents.

As for whether the same problem would exist in AE - no idea.

[USSAmerica]

ORIGINAL: carnifex

[:D]

[freeboy]

In pbem game T broke my heart as I oopsied a surface BB by ordering escorts to bombard.. bringing the fleet in close.. lost my surface fleet . GONE
I now consider it target practice as I push into SRA and PI in pbem game

[Bullwinkle58]

ORIGINAL: witpqs

In WITP there were serious problems with the code if you the Allies took Truk. Any merchant ships disbanded there would become stuck as an artifact of Truk being a major hub for the IJ auto-convoy routine's.

Is that was that was? I remember seeing over 100 AKs sitting there while I plinked on them with 4-engines from Ponape for months on end. Even when I was invading the PI and Truk had long been rendered useless there were 100 or more merchant ships camped out, wasted in the war effort.

[morganbj]

ORIGINAL: carnifex

Yeah. That's what I was thinkin'. As a matter of fact, I may just do that in my game in a few months just for the heck of it.

[ruffels]

Okay. I get it. It's suicide. I'm turning my ships around. I'll try somewhere else in a month or so. Thanks all. I especially like the A-bomb post. Very funny.