Christmas Is.-Pacific

[hbrsvl]

Hi-v1102aa,scen.9, Allies, late Aug. 42.

A question for those of you far in advance of me in the game. At Christmas Is. PO. I have 2 Base forces and other units. Are these needed? Are there air units which will arrive there, so needing some air support? Any other units?

I'd like to use these units elsewhere, but if needed, I'll let them (or some of them) stay.

Thanks, Hugh Browne

[SuluSea]

I guess it all depends on your strategy but the way I see it.


Christmas Is. has unlimited troop restrictions, to me it's a valuable base one that you need to protect your shipping lanes , launch possible assaults and future supply hub when built up. My game is in July 42 and some Seabees just landed and are starting the buildup now that I feel enough AV with forts is at the base.

[ckk]

I'm also in scen 9 in 1945. At your point you have recieved everything for Christmas e.g.102 Bn. 98 arty. etc and there are no air reinforcments scheduled but as Sulu says, it alll depends on where your defense lines are in relation to Oz, the Solomons etc.LOC. Unless these are secure (out of range of Imperial LBA) or at least there is an mobile defense force nearby, you should have asw assets there to defend your LOC.

ORIGINAL: hbrsvl

Hi-v1102aa,scen.9, Allies, late Aug. 42.

A question for those of you far in advance of me in the game. At Christmas Is. PO. I have 2 Base forces and other units. Are these needed? Are there air units which will arrive there, so needing some air support? Any other units?

I'd like to use these units elsewhere, but if needed, I'll let them (or some of them) stay.

Thanks, Hugh Browne

[topeverest]

CI is desirable as an allied player during the early and mid war. It is the only unlimited island in proximity, it is a logical hub for refuling for short haul transports / tankers that are not with oilers headed to points west/east, it serves as a air transport hub, and it is a search / training platform.

CI is also so far east that most Empire players do not want to risk taking or holding it, but if in Empire hands, it is an excellent forward sub base to wreak havoc on the transport lanes. It also forces the allies to push their supply lines to Oz much further to the east and south, lengthening the supply line. It probably also means the air bridge to Oz is broken.

IMO it is worth a garrison early on to prevent a SNLF or the like from taking the island until the allied players better understands the Empire expansion strategy and/or has their expansion halted.

[xj900uk]

IMO the Allied player should build up all and any bases west of PH and Hawaii, if nothing else to create and horde stockpiles of supplies & munitions that will be invaluable once the real fighting/retaking of important IJ-held islands and terrotories start in late '43.
CI is a good one to build up (mainly port faculities) but there are others like Canton, Baker and Johnson as well. And don't 4get Fiji + Pogo Pogo, those are both really nice places to visit

[bradfordkay]

Pogo Pogo? Is that a base in the Okeefenokee? "We have met the enemy and he is us?" [;)]

[rockmedic109]

ORIGINAL: bradfordkay

Pogo Pogo? Is that a base in the Okeefenokee? "We have met the enemy and he is us?" [;)]

Is that why I keep getting pilots on training missions in CONUS getting captured?

[pmath]

While I agree with all the sentiment regarding the strategic value of Christmas Island, early in the war you are starved for land forces and thats not the most strategic placement for those units. If you are facing an aggressive human opponent and he has eyes for the South Pacific early, even Canton will be too exposed to his probes. You will need to develop Noumea and Suva in this case. On the other hand, playing AI or against a human with focus elsewhere (India for example) I would use the forces to build up Canton/PagoPago zone and judge if even Baker might be defendable.

[Ken Estes]

I am playing Allies vs. AI and I am very impressed with AI aggressiveness. I lost CI, Canton, Attu and Baker without much chance to occupy or reinforce, barely saved Noumea from the JA 16th Inf Div with rushed 8th Marines. Lucked out and saved Espiritu Santo with an early arty unit that kept IJN guard unit from assaulting until I could send the Kiwi Bn from Fiji. The persistent use of surface raiders, including up to BB types to hit US forward bases has cost me AK TK and AO in those ports to great embarassment! All this in the early months when escorts, ships of all kinds are just too scarce for one's needs. IJN subs are tough too! By mid-42, I have assigned PTs, old CLs and AMCs to the most vulnerable island outposts and even a firstline CA/DD division for Midway and Wake. Holding Wake and retaking Canton Is. provoked several new IJN landing attempts, likewise my occupation of ports in SW China, Indochina by China.

Now I am scared to face a real person in this game, and have not kept up with the new patches etc! Gives new meaning to the learning cliff.

[topeverest]

It wouldnt be any fun if the Empire didnt expand and threaten your cookies...

[xj900uk]

Well it is mid-Jan '42 and in my game against the Japanese AI I don't consider that things are going too badly, despite the fact that it is on 'hard' difficulty (3 out of 4).
OK Singapore has jsut fallen but I managed to airlift/shiplift a proportion of the moveable assets out thanks to the ubiquitous Catalinas to Port Blair and from then I plan to fly them to Columbo as small cadres which can eventually be rebuilt (ships from Malaysia have by and large managed to get out as well with lots of precious Commonwealth troops). Also managed to save a portion of the CW forces at HK, despite a whole series of air attacks and valiant I managed to get around 35% out through the PI and Samoa area to Cairns where they are now rebuilding and will eventually be sent over to defend PM (which is a largely CW operation, don't want MacArthur sticking his big pipe in there).
Force Z wise Repulse didn't survive the 7 torpedos that hit it, PoW took 2 but made it back to Singapore for emergency repairs and on to Columbo where it is now in dry dock. Waiting to go in is the Indomitable which almost submerged after a surprise long-range Beatty attack off the Andamann Isles put two fish into her (CAP was bloody useless).
Malaysia is now totally lost, waiting for the assault ot start PDQ on the DEI. Further north have been reinforcing Rangoon like mad, other than loosing loads of ships to long-range Beattys from Thailand have more or less managed to do so, fortunately most of the British shipping sunk was already empty although they've taken out at least three CW cruisers so far...
PI was a shambles but then it always is, fortunately managed to get most of the shipping out although lost 3 subs very quickly to sneakily laid mines outside Manila harbour.
DEI-wise I have been busily buidling up Christmas (IO) and Cocos islands into hotbeds of ABDA resistance with a few base assets from Singapore (PBY's again) and also some ABTA-ised DEI colonial troops glad to get out of Java nad Sumatra before things get too bad. Dutch subs have been popping away very successfuly at IJN shipping (sub-laid minefields especially have taken a fair toll including the Hosho according to reports) and most of the shipping got away from DEI to Perth with precious fuel or else to Darwin for the host of small useless craft the Dutch seem to have on display at Sorjeba.
China things aren't doing too well, depsite thiis being a scenario 8 'quiet China' the IJA has already taken most of the north and is knocking loudly on Sian's door - just hope I have enough there to hold them up...
Elsewhere in the W and SW pacific things are holding up, astonishingly not a single capital ship was lost at PH and only two hsips (destroyer and minesweeper) were sunk in the air-raid, although a lot of planes were blown up on the tarmac. Wake is still resisting despite two IJ assaults and a visit from the Lady Lex and Big-E which sunk most of the first assault wave naval tonnage mid-December. Elswhere the IJ are moving cautiously down through the Solomons, they've just taken Lunga and Tulagi and came off 2nd best from an encounter with my ring of protective S-boat subs (far more reliable torpedos), Ironbottom Sound definitely living up to its nickname! There are already considerable assets buidling up at Noumea including several marine squadrons and two CV's (Lady Lex and Saucy Sara) bidding their time at anchor along with plenty of destroyers and cruisers, and also my engineers are hard at work at Efate (already a sub base with an full AS at anchor) and also Luganville building them up.
Elsewhere the Japanese took Baker but there wasn't anyone on it, and again the invasion convoy got hammered by a passing US CV who came along one day too late...

B4 you ask, the KB seems to have split up and has seen plenty of action around PI and Borneo, however things have gone a bit quiet over hte past week so I think it's gone back to refuel and to get new pilots/planes and also give those which it has got a bit of a rest

[CaptBeefheart]

I use Christmas as a refuelling point for all U.S.-origin convoys. I think it's worth garrisoning with 8th Marines, a USN base unit and some engineers early on.

[xj900uk]

I've garrisoned a few in the SW Pacific and swamped others with mines.