South of the Border, West of the Sun - obvert (J) vs Dan Nichols (A)
Moderators: wdolson, MOD_War-in-the-Pacific-Admirals-Edition
RE: South of the Border, West of the Sun - obvert (J) vs Dan Nichols (A)
Nice maps, obvert. A good December for the IJ empire. You seem to be doing especially well in China and the Aleutians.
RE: South of the Border, West of the Sun - obvert (J) vs Dan Nichols (A)
Thanks princep. The Allies basically scattered back behind the tree lines toward Sian and toward the rail lines. He's got a lot of corps trying to heal up there and set up on good defensive territory I'm sure, but it saves me having to scurry after them in the south so they don't cut my supply lines. The north is a focus, as there is so little up there to begin, and the Chinese have no armour or cavalry. So I've been buying out good armour, recon units, and engineers to run quickly to Lanchow and on up to Urumchi. There is really no way for him to catch me up there.
The airforce is working well to hit any units that did stick around. Wen chow looks tough, as there is a good corps there and about 500 Av in good defensive territory. I'll have two divisions and a brigade to bring in now, more if needed.
As for the Aleutians, I don't know if we re doing well there, but we do have a presence now. He did move just this past few days to contest me getting more, so it could be an active area for a while. So far I have more stuff up here, but I'm sure that will change soon.
The airforce is working well to hit any units that did stick around. Wen chow looks tough, as there is a good corps there and about 500 Av in good defensive territory. I'll have two divisions and a brigade to bring in now, more if needed.
As for the Aleutians, I don't know if we re doing well there, but we do have a presence now. He did move just this past few days to contest me getting more, so it could be an active area for a while. So far I have more stuff up here, but I'm sure that will change soon.
"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm." - Winston Churchill
RE: South of the Border, West of the Sun - obvert (J) vs Dan Nichols (A)
1 Jan 1942
The new year sees the Japanese Empire on the move in many areas of the map. Campaigns are picking up momentum after some brief lulls to organize forces and heal land units up to near full strength. Important areas for the current growth of the Empire and the acquisition of resources and oil for our continued economic expansion include North China, Burma, Java and NW Sumatra, and the remaining unconquered areas of the Celebes and Borneo. This should not come as a surprise. Main goals for the next month are as follows:
1. Isolating Java and forcing a strong beachhead there from which to launch the invasion of the island.
2. Cutting supply on the Burma Road into China by driving quickly into the Burmese interior.
3. Pushing toward Sian, Lanchow, and Urumchi in China to gain access to the oil and industry base of those areas and to further limit Chinese supply production.
4. Taking Port Moresby and Horn Island to control Torres Strait and moving into the Noumea area to deny the Allies easy access to Australia.
5. Finding the Allied supply lines, (which I believe now may move off map to Cape Town and then to Australia and India), and setting up raiders and subs to limit the amount of goods and troops moving into these areas.
6. Setting up defensive positions in the Central Pacific and the North Pacific, (where there most likely won't be any new conquests), and the continued surveillance of the area. I considered moving into the area around Pago Pago, but I don't really see a need to go there if the Allies aren't sending major convoys that direction anyway. I still might take a few bases but not build up or occupy them just to worry him about expansion and also to know when he is serious about becoming offensive as he will most likely wait to recapture them until he's ready to move.
7. Solidifying the economy by beginning to send in new convoys from the DEI and making sure all production is meeting demands and not overstripping our resources. I will wait for most oil convoys to the HI until the sub threat has been reduced, but will start bringing fuel and resources out of the DEI mostly on cargo ships and in returning supply convoys.
DEI: The para-drop on Oosthaven did not capture the base but in spite of being outgunned 43 to 18 in AV our attack came off at 10-5 and knocked forts down to 0. Tomorrow's drop is still on and LR CAPed, so hopefully this will succeed. If not, more troops are 4-5 days away.
Major night CAP is on at Palembang as 35 Dutch bombers came in and in spite of the 9 zeros on CAP, (which took out one 139) they got 9 Oil!! Not ok. Moonlight is 96% so I've got to CAP the hell out of this place until the light goes down. About 35 zeros should go up tonight.
We should be to Johor Bahru in about a week. All divisions are landed and everything is in stat mode waiting to move ahead. The crossing of the strait is scheduled for January 15 if all goes well. Bombers continue to pound the airfield at Singapore, this turn getting 27 hits with 2 supply hits and 7 base hits. Our best result yet. This at the price of 1 lost Sally and 13 damaged.
Balikpapan troops are resting and will deliberate attack in a few days.
PI: We are moving troops into Clark Airfield in order to isolate the Manilla troops from retreating there. If successful, this could make this campaign much shorter than it looked to be considering the small amount of forces committed. There should be about 750 AV moving into Clark. I'm hoping this is enough not to get pushed back out of there. If it is, then the Manilla troops will continue to be hit by are and bombarded by land until they are down to around 200 AV, at which time they should fall to my 550 AV there. I do have an engineer unit frantically building forts at Lingayen just in case we have to retreat and regroup there. If this all works it will force them to retreat back to the jungle hex E of Manilla, as that is the only spot not now occupied by the IJA around Manilla other than Clark.
N PAC: Mavis took out an xAKL at Cold Bay. There are several ships here and we're sending two SCTFs into the area. One is an AMC with two Es direct to Cold Bay. The other is the two AMCs coming from the South which will try to meet any fleeing ships to the East of the area. An AV and another E with Alfs on Naval attack at 1,000 ft will move within range as well although the weather is very Deadliest Catch. I don't imagine they had de-icers on those AVs for the float planes. Meanwhile the ground crews on Adak are snowed in and enjoying their first King Crab Maki rolls and playing long games of 'igo.'
China: More Armour units are being bought out, at a rate of one each two turns, and heading up to the small roads into the deserts. Some will go up to Urumchi while others will try to outflank and cut off the corps fleeing to Lanchow. A couple will head for Kiuchuan to take that base and set up a small airfield for LR CAP as we approach Hami and Urumchi, where many air units should be based. The Allies have a habit of withdrawing units in contested areas, so we'll se if these remain out here, but we want to make sure we have cover just in case the bombers come out to slow our progress. The fighters are short legged and old, and there shouldn't be enough supply to change them out, so we should be fine bringing in one 12 strong Oscar unit to cover.
Still not sure if I can get the oil to flow out of this area, but it's certainly worth a shot.
Subs: Even the US fleet subs are starting to hit now. His blockade around Truk is especially vicious. One sub attacked three times over night sinking an xAK. At Ambon we have 3 separate ASW groups all trying to shepherd the wounded CA out of port and back to Babeldaob. There are also 10 Jakes, 20 Betties, 15 Lily and 4 Mavis on ASW. Talk about overkill. I just don't want to lose another CA if it can be at all avoided. We keep getting messages 1 or 2 subs are hit each turn now. Not sure if they are correct, or if the damage is much. Not many ASW attacks by ships in spite of 3 subs being in the shallow water hex all seen multiple times by aircraft. Seems like in a 40 mile square of shallow water with 50 planes and 12 ships we should be able to find these bastards and knock them out over the course of several days. Alas, not yet.
The new year sees the Japanese Empire on the move in many areas of the map. Campaigns are picking up momentum after some brief lulls to organize forces and heal land units up to near full strength. Important areas for the current growth of the Empire and the acquisition of resources and oil for our continued economic expansion include North China, Burma, Java and NW Sumatra, and the remaining unconquered areas of the Celebes and Borneo. This should not come as a surprise. Main goals for the next month are as follows:
1. Isolating Java and forcing a strong beachhead there from which to launch the invasion of the island.
2. Cutting supply on the Burma Road into China by driving quickly into the Burmese interior.
3. Pushing toward Sian, Lanchow, and Urumchi in China to gain access to the oil and industry base of those areas and to further limit Chinese supply production.
4. Taking Port Moresby and Horn Island to control Torres Strait and moving into the Noumea area to deny the Allies easy access to Australia.
5. Finding the Allied supply lines, (which I believe now may move off map to Cape Town and then to Australia and India), and setting up raiders and subs to limit the amount of goods and troops moving into these areas.
6. Setting up defensive positions in the Central Pacific and the North Pacific, (where there most likely won't be any new conquests), and the continued surveillance of the area. I considered moving into the area around Pago Pago, but I don't really see a need to go there if the Allies aren't sending major convoys that direction anyway. I still might take a few bases but not build up or occupy them just to worry him about expansion and also to know when he is serious about becoming offensive as he will most likely wait to recapture them until he's ready to move.
7. Solidifying the economy by beginning to send in new convoys from the DEI and making sure all production is meeting demands and not overstripping our resources. I will wait for most oil convoys to the HI until the sub threat has been reduced, but will start bringing fuel and resources out of the DEI mostly on cargo ships and in returning supply convoys.
DEI: The para-drop on Oosthaven did not capture the base but in spite of being outgunned 43 to 18 in AV our attack came off at 10-5 and knocked forts down to 0. Tomorrow's drop is still on and LR CAPed, so hopefully this will succeed. If not, more troops are 4-5 days away.
Major night CAP is on at Palembang as 35 Dutch bombers came in and in spite of the 9 zeros on CAP, (which took out one 139) they got 9 Oil!! Not ok. Moonlight is 96% so I've got to CAP the hell out of this place until the light goes down. About 35 zeros should go up tonight.
We should be to Johor Bahru in about a week. All divisions are landed and everything is in stat mode waiting to move ahead. The crossing of the strait is scheduled for January 15 if all goes well. Bombers continue to pound the airfield at Singapore, this turn getting 27 hits with 2 supply hits and 7 base hits. Our best result yet. This at the price of 1 lost Sally and 13 damaged.
Balikpapan troops are resting and will deliberate attack in a few days.
PI: We are moving troops into Clark Airfield in order to isolate the Manilla troops from retreating there. If successful, this could make this campaign much shorter than it looked to be considering the small amount of forces committed. There should be about 750 AV moving into Clark. I'm hoping this is enough not to get pushed back out of there. If it is, then the Manilla troops will continue to be hit by are and bombarded by land until they are down to around 200 AV, at which time they should fall to my 550 AV there. I do have an engineer unit frantically building forts at Lingayen just in case we have to retreat and regroup there. If this all works it will force them to retreat back to the jungle hex E of Manilla, as that is the only spot not now occupied by the IJA around Manilla other than Clark.
N PAC: Mavis took out an xAKL at Cold Bay. There are several ships here and we're sending two SCTFs into the area. One is an AMC with two Es direct to Cold Bay. The other is the two AMCs coming from the South which will try to meet any fleeing ships to the East of the area. An AV and another E with Alfs on Naval attack at 1,000 ft will move within range as well although the weather is very Deadliest Catch. I don't imagine they had de-icers on those AVs for the float planes. Meanwhile the ground crews on Adak are snowed in and enjoying their first King Crab Maki rolls and playing long games of 'igo.'
China: More Armour units are being bought out, at a rate of one each two turns, and heading up to the small roads into the deserts. Some will go up to Urumchi while others will try to outflank and cut off the corps fleeing to Lanchow. A couple will head for Kiuchuan to take that base and set up a small airfield for LR CAP as we approach Hami and Urumchi, where many air units should be based. The Allies have a habit of withdrawing units in contested areas, so we'll se if these remain out here, but we want to make sure we have cover just in case the bombers come out to slow our progress. The fighters are short legged and old, and there shouldn't be enough supply to change them out, so we should be fine bringing in one 12 strong Oscar unit to cover.
Still not sure if I can get the oil to flow out of this area, but it's certainly worth a shot.
Subs: Even the US fleet subs are starting to hit now. His blockade around Truk is especially vicious. One sub attacked three times over night sinking an xAK. At Ambon we have 3 separate ASW groups all trying to shepherd the wounded CA out of port and back to Babeldaob. There are also 10 Jakes, 20 Betties, 15 Lily and 4 Mavis on ASW. Talk about overkill. I just don't want to lose another CA if it can be at all avoided. We keep getting messages 1 or 2 subs are hit each turn now. Not sure if they are correct, or if the damage is much. Not many ASW attacks by ships in spite of 3 subs being in the shallow water hex all seen multiple times by aircraft. Seems like in a 40 mile square of shallow water with 50 planes and 12 ships we should be able to find these bastards and knock them out over the course of several days. Alas, not yet.
"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm." - Winston Churchill
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1EyedJacks
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RE: South of the Border, West of the Sun - obvert (J) vs Dan Nichols (A)
Hi Obvert,
Can I ask what software you are using for your screen captures? Is that Snagit or something else you are using?
TTFN,
Mike
Can I ask what software you are using for your screen captures? Is that Snagit or something else you are using?
TTFN,
Mike
TTFN,
Mike
Mike
RE: South of the Border, West of the Sun - obvert (J) vs Dan Nichols (A)
Hi Obvert,
Can I ask what software you are using for your screen captures? Is that Snagit or something else you are using?
TTFN,
Mike
Yeah, I just use alt-print screen on the keyboard (to only grab the open window) and paste them into Paint. Then I change them to a jpeg at full quality. If I do any manipulations or text I use Photoshop. I do a lot of design and photo work, so this is the easiest program for me to use.
I don't know much about PCs, so it was actually hard for me to find the best way top grab the image. I find it easier to get the whole screen and cut in Photoshop if I need to crop.
Now if I can figure out how to get Tracker working I'll be doing well.
Erik
"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm." - Winston Churchill
RE: South of the Border, West of the Sun - obvert (J) vs Dan Nichols (A)
2 Jan 1942
DEI: Another good raid at Singers and another lost Sally and 10 damaged. We should be able to keep this up for a month if needed as long as no fighters show up.
The para-drop on Oosthaven was a failure, so we'll wait until troops walk in. Disturbingly, the Dutch air force is suddenly extremely proficient in night bombing, and Palembang took another 9 hits on the Oil in spite of 33 zeros meeting the bombing run. Shouldn't they at least be knocked off target? So, now it's apparent that the Bettys, Nells, and any nearby IJA bombing units will prepare to shut down Batavia airfield. Sweeps will begin tomorrow with 25 Zeros. Only 14 fighters are listed at the base. I'm sure more will be moved in. Most transport duties are finished, so the Singkawang and Kuching fields will open up for the long range bombers.
AS Canopus tried to make a late run for it from Manilla and moved down near Jolo last turn. The Tainan Ku. took it out with 26 60kg bomb hits from 1,000 ft! These were aimed for the group of PTs in the area, but since we took no losses, seems like this is fine and leaves the Nells to hit the troops on Mindanao. Also, now I know that in a pinch these guys can be devastating against cargo and auxiliary ships. Not sure I'd like to try this attack against a SCTF with a lot of AA.
The CA rescue TF left Ambon untouched and is moving well up toward Babeldaob. I keep forgetting to check the name of the cruiser that is injured, but it's a Myoko class, so very precious. More reported hits on subs by ASW air today in the area. Also one Dutch XVII class sub critically hit and believed sunk at Palembang.
Another 21 AV SNLF is heading for Lautern to break the stalemate there with the 2 AV base force and AA unit that have stymied our forces. Strange the places the Dutch decide to stand up and fight.
PI: More bombing of troops in Manilla, and our forces moved toward Clark. No sign of any movement by any Allied forces here. On Mindanao we're on hex out of Cagayan, and the Naval Guard is still moving into the mountains to stop the retreat to Malaybalay. We might have to wait a few days for everything to get in place, but here there is no real hurry.
N PAC: Well, our AMC and 2 E SCTF hit a wall at Cold Bay today when the Warspite showed up escorted by 2 DDs. Not a huge loss, but I wish the 6 Alfs, 4 Jakes, and 9 Mavis which reconned and bombed the area last turn might have seen a BB sneaking in. Maybe it was hidden in a squall or behind an iceburg. Anyway, everything else is on the way out in various directions. The Alfs put 2 60 kg bombs in another xAKL last turn in spite of the fact Dan moved in P-40s for CAP. Probably had to do with them being at 15,000 ft and us coming in at 1,000. We'll lay off the Float Plane bombing for next turn, as I don't think the Warspite will be much affected by 60 kg.
China: Bombing is getting more killed squads now. We're wearing them down. No sign of air forces anywhere. Part of the AVG is still in Chunking, but the rest may have gone back to India. Seems odd as this is the only air presence that can really affect the Japanese forces during the first months of the war. Saving them seems counterproductive, but maybe there is another plan on the horizon.
Subs: I-2 continues to be chase near San Diego, so there is something stirring here. Another sub moved near the coastline near Santa Barbara. No kills for either side today.
DEI: Another good raid at Singers and another lost Sally and 10 damaged. We should be able to keep this up for a month if needed as long as no fighters show up.
The para-drop on Oosthaven was a failure, so we'll wait until troops walk in. Disturbingly, the Dutch air force is suddenly extremely proficient in night bombing, and Palembang took another 9 hits on the Oil in spite of 33 zeros meeting the bombing run. Shouldn't they at least be knocked off target? So, now it's apparent that the Bettys, Nells, and any nearby IJA bombing units will prepare to shut down Batavia airfield. Sweeps will begin tomorrow with 25 Zeros. Only 14 fighters are listed at the base. I'm sure more will be moved in. Most transport duties are finished, so the Singkawang and Kuching fields will open up for the long range bombers.
AS Canopus tried to make a late run for it from Manilla and moved down near Jolo last turn. The Tainan Ku. took it out with 26 60kg bomb hits from 1,000 ft! These were aimed for the group of PTs in the area, but since we took no losses, seems like this is fine and leaves the Nells to hit the troops on Mindanao. Also, now I know that in a pinch these guys can be devastating against cargo and auxiliary ships. Not sure I'd like to try this attack against a SCTF with a lot of AA.
The CA rescue TF left Ambon untouched and is moving well up toward Babeldaob. I keep forgetting to check the name of the cruiser that is injured, but it's a Myoko class, so very precious. More reported hits on subs by ASW air today in the area. Also one Dutch XVII class sub critically hit and believed sunk at Palembang.
Another 21 AV SNLF is heading for Lautern to break the stalemate there with the 2 AV base force and AA unit that have stymied our forces. Strange the places the Dutch decide to stand up and fight.
PI: More bombing of troops in Manilla, and our forces moved toward Clark. No sign of any movement by any Allied forces here. On Mindanao we're on hex out of Cagayan, and the Naval Guard is still moving into the mountains to stop the retreat to Malaybalay. We might have to wait a few days for everything to get in place, but here there is no real hurry.
N PAC: Well, our AMC and 2 E SCTF hit a wall at Cold Bay today when the Warspite showed up escorted by 2 DDs. Not a huge loss, but I wish the 6 Alfs, 4 Jakes, and 9 Mavis which reconned and bombed the area last turn might have seen a BB sneaking in. Maybe it was hidden in a squall or behind an iceburg. Anyway, everything else is on the way out in various directions. The Alfs put 2 60 kg bombs in another xAKL last turn in spite of the fact Dan moved in P-40s for CAP. Probably had to do with them being at 15,000 ft and us coming in at 1,000. We'll lay off the Float Plane bombing for next turn, as I don't think the Warspite will be much affected by 60 kg.
China: Bombing is getting more killed squads now. We're wearing them down. No sign of air forces anywhere. Part of the AVG is still in Chunking, but the rest may have gone back to India. Seems odd as this is the only air presence that can really affect the Japanese forces during the first months of the war. Saving them seems counterproductive, but maybe there is another plan on the horizon.
Subs: I-2 continues to be chase near San Diego, so there is something stirring here. Another sub moved near the coastline near Santa Barbara. No kills for either side today.
"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm." - Winston Churchill
RE: South of the Border, West of the Sun - obvert (J) vs Dan Nichols (A)
Good job capturing Palembang undamaged and so early. Too bad your opponent is taking advantage of this early move to bomb the oil facilities. I wouldn't bother with night fighters. I have yet to see even dedicated night fighters like the P-61 Blackwidow have any real effect on night intruders. Your zeroes would be more effective sweeping the dutch airbases and have them followed up by every bomber you can find on airfield attack missions.
RE: South of the Border, West of the Sun - obvert (J) vs Dan Nichols (A)
Good job capturing Palembang undamaged and so early. Too bad your opponent is taking advantage of this early move to bomb the oil facilities. I wouldn't bother with night fighters. I have yet to see even dedicated night fighters like the P-61 Blackwidow have any real effect on night intruders. Your zeroes would be more effective sweeping the dutch airbases and have them followed up by every bomber you can find on airfield attack missions.
Thanks. I had no experience with this, and so I'm experimenting. I find I do get some hits on the bombers at night, and I had heard that it disrupts their accuracy. I don't think I'll experiment with taking the night CAP off completely in case they are helping the Dutch bomb sighters miss a bit, and as they are hitting some. In two turns I've damaged 10 and shot down one with one seemingly lost on ops. It doesn't help that the moon is about 90% right now.
I did in fact send in 44 Nells, 35 Betties, 40 Kates from the Mini-KB, and 4 groups of zeros on sweeps for this turn. Brought everything I could spare for now, and if it doesn't make a dent, I'll divert some IJA groups of Ki-21 IIa from bombing Singers and put them on the job too. He only has one AA unit there to start the game, and about 12 big AA guns total, so as long as the sweeps go in first we should get a good hit on the field. We'll see in a few minutes when I run the turn.
I'm very glad I read someone's post (I can't remember whose now) a while back about making sure not only to bring invasion troops but make sure to bring the support troops in right after to keep up the pace of operations as the Japanese in the beginning of the game. I did send engineer, two airbases and naval support in 2 turns after getting Palembang, and it allows me to use it now as a main airfield for attacking Java.
"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm." - Winston Churchill
RE: South of the Border, West of the Sun - obvert (J) vs Dan Nichols (A)
My experience is that early in the war any fighter on night CAP will help against night bombing. However, later in the war with high exp bomber pilots in 4E's ... nothing works that well. They will bore in on their attack in spite of losses and flak ....ORIGINAL: obvert
Good job capturing Palembang undamaged and so early. Too bad your opponent is taking advantage of this early move to bomb the oil facilities. I wouldn't bother with night fighters. I have yet to see even dedicated night fighters like the P-61 Blackwidow have any real effect on night intruders. Your zeroes would be more effective sweeping the dutch airbases and have them followed up by every bomber you can find on airfield attack missions.
Thanks. I had no experience with this, and so I'm experimenting. I find I do get some hits on the bombers at night, and I had heard that it disrupts their accuracy. I don't think I'll experiment with taking the night CAP off completely in case they are helping the Dutch bomb sighters miss a bit, and as they are hitting some. In two turns I've damaged 10 and shot down one with one seemingly lost on ops. It doesn't help that the moon is about 90% right now.
Pax
RE: South of the Border, West of the Sun - obvert (J) vs Dan Nichols (A)
3 Jan 1942
DEI: Kates Mini-KB and Nells from Palembang bombed Batavia field today, doing well taking out some bombers on the ground and putting some damage on the field. The 9 Nells and 35 Betties from Singkawang did not fly due to Heavy Rains. Arrggg! No cap was up today, so this was a great free shot at the field, and only half the bombers flew. We'll try again tomorrow. As it is, a total of 5 139s were listed destroyed on the ground, and about 25 were listed damaged. I'm sure not this many were actually damaged though. A few other fighters and small bombers were listed as destroyed on the ground as well. It's odd that there was no CAP. This could change tomorrow, but Dan has so far avoided big confrontations in the air, so he may just pull everything back and give up the bombing as well, which would be fine by me.
Same old at Singers. The damage was a total of 27 on the airfield, but the total damage listed after the turn was down from 36 last turn to 17 after this one. And we've been hitting consistently at this level between 20-30 damage per turn. How does that work? Or is this FOW? Does field damage always list correctly or not?
Tokyo Radio announced the fall of Balikpapan. Only 4 points damage on Oil and Refinery. Now we'll see if he tries to night bomb this one as well. Makassar is the only spot near close enough to get to it, unless he's going to use Cats.
PI: 635 AV moved into Clark this turn. Another 95 AV is on the way and will arrive in combat mode next turn, (an engineer and an armour unit). I'm hoping this will be enough to hold here while we deal with Manilla. In Manilla we have 535 AV and an armour unit moving in next turn. Once that is present we will attack. The units here are down to 289 AV shown by bombardment, dropping about 10-15 AV per turn due to air assault.
Butuan fell this turn on Mindanao and the small PA unit there was pretty messed up.
N PAC: All quiet up here this turn. Our two TFs retreated into the North Pacific and haven't sighted anything else up there.
S PAC: Both DDs sent to scout the area to each side of Noumea found nothing. Neither one showed a rise in detection either. A replenishment TF is moving toward Tulagi in advance of the KB coming this direction. AMCs are gathering the few spare Jakes in pools, and an AV is getting it's air groups sorted to come down south as well. Three small 15 AV SNLF units are loading at Saipan to come take a few vacant bases down here while we're at it, just because the KB will already be in the vicinity. I'll grab Luganville and Efate first. I wish we had a big enough unit to take Noumea available, but alas, we don't just now. Unless I took the Rgt from Rabaul that's slated for Port Moresby, and just pull it back out immediately . I'll consider that.
Burma: Approaching Pegu, where 4 units are listed by recon. Trying to get a move on over here, but it's slow walking.
China: Some fighters have been moved into Kweilin and 3 AVG P-40s came up today at Nanning. Two were shot down and one went down to ops. Then we bombed the field again. Still bombing the retreating Corps in clear hexes near Nanning, and now chasing with 2 Bgds.
In the north one corps we're chasing on the long yellow road to Lanchow stopped in the middle of the one hex island there. We're bringing in more troops before attacking, as well as outflanking with three armour units up the road. This could knock them off the road altogether and let us pass through ahead. I wish the Japanese had made more tanks!
DEI: Kates Mini-KB and Nells from Palembang bombed Batavia field today, doing well taking out some bombers on the ground and putting some damage on the field. The 9 Nells and 35 Betties from Singkawang did not fly due to Heavy Rains. Arrggg! No cap was up today, so this was a great free shot at the field, and only half the bombers flew. We'll try again tomorrow. As it is, a total of 5 139s were listed destroyed on the ground, and about 25 were listed damaged. I'm sure not this many were actually damaged though. A few other fighters and small bombers were listed as destroyed on the ground as well. It's odd that there was no CAP. This could change tomorrow, but Dan has so far avoided big confrontations in the air, so he may just pull everything back and give up the bombing as well, which would be fine by me.
Same old at Singers. The damage was a total of 27 on the airfield, but the total damage listed after the turn was down from 36 last turn to 17 after this one. And we've been hitting consistently at this level between 20-30 damage per turn. How does that work? Or is this FOW? Does field damage always list correctly or not?
Tokyo Radio announced the fall of Balikpapan. Only 4 points damage on Oil and Refinery. Now we'll see if he tries to night bomb this one as well. Makassar is the only spot near close enough to get to it, unless he's going to use Cats.
PI: 635 AV moved into Clark this turn. Another 95 AV is on the way and will arrive in combat mode next turn, (an engineer and an armour unit). I'm hoping this will be enough to hold here while we deal with Manilla. In Manilla we have 535 AV and an armour unit moving in next turn. Once that is present we will attack. The units here are down to 289 AV shown by bombardment, dropping about 10-15 AV per turn due to air assault.
Butuan fell this turn on Mindanao and the small PA unit there was pretty messed up.
N PAC: All quiet up here this turn. Our two TFs retreated into the North Pacific and haven't sighted anything else up there.
S PAC: Both DDs sent to scout the area to each side of Noumea found nothing. Neither one showed a rise in detection either. A replenishment TF is moving toward Tulagi in advance of the KB coming this direction. AMCs are gathering the few spare Jakes in pools, and an AV is getting it's air groups sorted to come down south as well. Three small 15 AV SNLF units are loading at Saipan to come take a few vacant bases down here while we're at it, just because the KB will already be in the vicinity. I'll grab Luganville and Efate first. I wish we had a big enough unit to take Noumea available, but alas, we don't just now. Unless I took the Rgt from Rabaul that's slated for Port Moresby, and just pull it back out immediately . I'll consider that.
Burma: Approaching Pegu, where 4 units are listed by recon. Trying to get a move on over here, but it's slow walking.
China: Some fighters have been moved into Kweilin and 3 AVG P-40s came up today at Nanning. Two were shot down and one went down to ops. Then we bombed the field again. Still bombing the retreating Corps in clear hexes near Nanning, and now chasing with 2 Bgds.
In the north one corps we're chasing on the long yellow road to Lanchow stopped in the middle of the one hex island there. We're bringing in more troops before attacking, as well as outflanking with three armour units up the road. This could knock them off the road altogether and let us pass through ahead. I wish the Japanese had made more tanks!
"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm." - Winston Churchill
RE: South of the Border, West of the Sun - obvert (J) vs Dan Nichols (A)
quote:
ORIGINAL: obvert
quote:
Good job capturing Palembang undamaged and so early. Too bad your opponent is taking advantage of this early move to bomb the oil facilities. I wouldn't bother with night fighters. I have yet to see even dedicated night fighters like the P-61 Blackwidow have any real effect on night intruders. Your zeroes would be more effective sweeping the dutch airbases and have them followed up by every bomber you can find on airfield attack missions.
-Jzanes
Thanks. I had no experience with this, and so I'm experimenting. I find I do get some hits on the bombers at night, and I had heard that it disrupts their accuracy. I don't think I'll experiment with taking the night CAP off completely in case they are helping the Dutch bomb sighters miss a bit, and as they are hitting some. In two turns I've damaged 10 and shot down one with one seemingly lost on ops. It doesn't help that the moon is about 90% right now.
My experience is that early in the war any fighter on night CAP will help against night bombing. However, later in the war with high exp bomber pilots in 4E's ... nothing works that well. They will bore in on their attack in spite of losses and flak ....
-Pax Mondo
In 3 nights of bombing the Dutch have managed to get 97 points of damage to the Oil! It is bright moonlight, but this seems odd considering they are getting harassed by an at least equal number of zeros. It's annoying, but by the time I really want to pull oil out of here, there will be plenty built up I'm sure.
I'm not looking forward to 100 4Es hitting this later in the war if this is what 35 B-10s can do now! But at least the door on night bombing is wide open, and I will be doing some experimenting with it as well a bit later.
"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm." - Winston Churchill
RE: South of the Border, West of the Sun - obvert (J) vs Dan Nichols (A)
ORIGINAL: obvert
quote:
ORIGINAL: obvert
quote:
Good job capturing Palembang undamaged and so early. Too bad your opponent is taking advantage of this early move to bomb the oil facilities. I wouldn't bother with night fighters. I have yet to see even dedicated night fighters like the P-61 Blackwidow have any real effect on night intruders. Your zeroes would be more effective sweeping the dutch airbases and have them followed up by every bomber you can find on airfield attack missions.
-Jzanes
Thanks. I had no experience with this, and so I'm experimenting. I find I do get some hits on the bombers at night, and I had heard that it disrupts their accuracy. I don't think I'll experiment with taking the night CAP off completely in case they are helping the Dutch bomb sighters miss a bit, and as they are hitting some. In two turns I've damaged 10 and shot down one with one seemingly lost on ops. It doesn't help that the moon is about 90% right now.
My experience is that early in the war any fighter on night CAP will help against night bombing. However, later in the war with high exp bomber pilots in 4E's ... nothing works that well. They will bore in on their attack in spite of losses and flak ....
-Pax Mondo
In 3 nights of bombing the Dutch have managed to get 97 points of damage to the Oil! It is bright moonlight, but this seems odd considering they are getting harassed by an at least equal number of zeros. It's annoying, but by the time I really want to pull oil out of here, there will be plenty built up I'm sure.
I'm not looking forward to 100 4Es hitting this later in the war if this is what 35 B-10s can do now! But at least the door on night bombing is wide open, and I will be doing some experimenting with it as well a bit later.
Your opponent is clearly asking for a 200-Netty 1,000ft night raid on his nearly undefended fields at Soerebaja and Batavia...
After that he might ask you for a HR limiting night flying a little. You can tell in the email that you're looking to deploy thousands of night kamikazes in 1944. [;)][:D]
RE: South of the Border, West of the Sun - obvert (J) vs Dan Nichols (A)
Do you know where the allied 4Es are now? By now, the allies could've concentrated their heavy bombers and I wouldn't be surprised to see them hit Palembang anytime now. Do you guys have any HRs restricting night bombing? It's probably not universal but I think many players (including me) feel that night bombing is too strong and needs some sort of restriction.
RE: South of the Border, West of the Sun - obvert (J) vs Dan Nichols (A)
Your opponent is clearly asking for a 200-Netty 1,000ft night raid on his nearly undefended fields at Soerebaja and Batavia...
After that he might ask you for a HR limiting night flying a little. You can tell in the email that you're looking to deploy thousands of night kamikazes in 1944.
Exactly! At this point I'm thinking I'll get more done by day just because then I might also get a crack at his CAP, if there is some. Plus the bombers I'd like to disperse with are out at night having a party in my backyard and pissing in the pool. I'll save that raid for 43 when there are some 4Es to hit! I believe in this game he's withdrawn them all after I hit Cagayan with a big raid to stop him night bombing Miri with them.
If I can make night kamis hit anything, this gives me every reason to try them without guilt! [:D]
"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm." - Winston Churchill
RE: South of the Border, West of the Sun - obvert (J) vs Dan Nichols (A)
Do you know where the allied 4Es are now? By now, the allies could've concentrated their heavy bombers and I wouldn't be surprised to see them hit Palembang anytime now. Do you guys have any HRs restricting night bombing? It's probably not universal but I think many players (including me) feel that night bombing is too strong and needs some sort of restriction.
As above, I think they are long gone. He was not hesitant to use them before, and I haven't seen any raids in almost two weeks.
No night restrictions. I am leaning toward just going with it and trying out my own version of this when I really might need it. I read a bit by Nemo about wiping Allied fields in 43-45 by massive night bombing runs by IJA bombers at 1,000 ft with raw pilots that would completely shut down the airfield, so I'd like to keep something in my back pocket for later. If it gets ridiculous at some point and every attack is massed night bombing, well, then maybe I'd consider a request for an HR.
"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm." - Winston Churchill
RE: South of the Border, West of the Sun - obvert (J) vs Dan Nichols (A)
Supply Route: It appears some things at least are moving into the deep South Pacific. I'm not sure what route they are taking yet, but I camped a sub near Tahiti and look what I found. Of course we didn't shoot at it yet. How can this sub commander pass up 6 APs guarded by one DD?
I'm getting a very small raiding group together with CL Katori and 2 DDs. This CL is very slow, 18 knots, but has a plane, good endurance and it's sitting at Kwajalein doing nothing. I'll take them down past Canton to refuel, then on to the gap between Penrhyn and Manihiki toward Tahiti. More subs are on the way as well.
I'm getting a very small raiding group together with CL Katori and 2 DDs. This CL is very slow, 18 knots, but has a plane, good endurance and it's sitting at Kwajalein doing nothing. I'll take them down past Canton to refuel, then on to the gap between Penrhyn and Manihiki toward Tahiti. More subs are on the way as well.
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"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm." - Winston Churchill
RE: South of the Border, West of the Sun - obvert (J) vs Dan Nichols (A)
Air Losses - 3 Jan 1942
Here is a look at today's air losses and the Air to Air losses for the campaign. As you can see we've flown many more sorties than the Allies, and so ops losses are much higher.
I kept wondering where the Wildebeests and Swordfish were until looking here and realizing we got most of the available torpedo bombers early during the Malasian invasion. There can't be many Buffalo left in the pools either. Many of the P-40 losses were in the PI until he pulled out (withdrew I think) all of the fighters. Two of the three sections o the AVG remain unseen so far. The one that went to China hasn't fared well.
Now for the Dutch.
Here is a look at today's air losses and the Air to Air losses for the campaign. As you can see we've flown many more sorties than the Allies, and so ops losses are much higher.
I kept wondering where the Wildebeests and Swordfish were until looking here and realizing we got most of the available torpedo bombers early during the Malasian invasion. There can't be many Buffalo left in the pools either. Many of the P-40 losses were in the PI until he pulled out (withdrew I think) all of the fighters. Two of the three sections o the AVG remain unseen so far. The one that went to China hasn't fared well.
Now for the Dutch.
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- 3Jan42..rlosses.jpg (590.5 KiB) Viewed 294 times
"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm." - Winston Churchill
RE: South of the Border, West of the Sun - obvert (J) vs Dan Nichols (A)
email failure:No turn today as an email I sent that is listed as sent was never received by my opponent. Very strange. I wonder whose account doesn't like AE?
This will give me a chance to gather myself and assess both the current situation and the future plans of the Japanese Empire.
Current Status:It seems that after a first shock of losing some valuable naval assets our forces have dug in and shown their mettle by quickly adapting to take most of the first objectives in the DEI, in China and in the Pacific without any more major setbacks. This has been helped by the Allies continued withdrawl from key areas before they've lost fighting capability and equipment, and the strategy which seems in play throughout the map of pulling back to a further line of defense and beginning to build there in preparation for future attacks.
Goals for the next month of continued expansion are listed a few posts back on 1 Jan I believe. Maps will be available tomorrow.
Expansion Strategy after SRA:
Now I'd like to ponder the next steps after the SRA and first Pacific Expansions have finished.
We're devising one prospective plan for an invasion before the deadline expires, assuming Java, Singapore and the PI are well in hand by then and no major crisis is looming.
---------------------------
Ceylon
Strategic Reasoning:
1. Deny the Allies a close support base for naval use and logistical support.
2. Attrit Allied air power where it is weakest in 42, among the British units.
3. Create a focus in this sector to draw forces and materials away from the support of China, which is the real strategic goal.
4. Create the impression that a Japanese invasion of India may be imminent and force my opponent to prepare for this eventuality by bringing in US forces and other support troops and air power that could otherwise be used in Australia, the Solomons, and in China.
5. Attract and learn to deal with the threats of Allied 4E attacks in a theatre of little importance before the masses of them appear in 43. I'm sure he'll be making some more night attacks here with 4Es. I'd rather have them be in Ceylon than in China or the Solomons.
Tactical thoughts:
1. The first step in this process would be to attempt to recon every base on Ceylon using Mavis from Port Blair and Glens from subs. If a fleet is present, which I highly doubt, there would be an attempt to sneak up on it with the KB after a feignt toward OZ.
2. Step two would be to invade the islands of Deigo Garcia and Addu, leaving some air support, a decent garrison, and search planes, most likely Jakes. Between these islands and the planes from Sumatran bases, there would be a narrow window for ship movement through this area. Hopefully in light of step 3 this would appear to be a diversion.
3. Invade northern OZ and give every indication this is a massive undertaking that would not stop there. Prep multiple units for Perth and begin to move units arriving toward their South Pacific destinations with an Aussie prep. I have units in Manchuria prepping now for every major base in every theatre including Anchorage, Pearl, Calcutta, Brisbane, Perth, Auckland, and Colombo. If the reports are going through, my opponent must know some subterfuge with destination preps is happening. The first division removed from Manchuria would be prepped for Perth but sent eventually elsewhere. Several divisions in Manchuria and the HI would have prep changed to OZ.
4. Before the window closes a massive invasion (4-5 divisions and support)supported by the KB (the mini-KB would move to the South Pacific) would take Ceylon quickly using troops from Malaya. Only a few smaller units would be prepped for the landing point. The convoy heading to Ceylon would be routed to Perth but have Ceylon as a waypoint, and change to the landing destination only once it's detected (I think this is possible, but haven't worked it out yet, but I have a test game head to head on now to work on some things like this). Obviously, long-legged ships would be needed, and separate surface and ASW would follow with it.
5. Most large ground units would be removed after the invasion with prep destinations in North India. They will head back to Burma. This will only create a momentary confusion as to destination, but if noticed it should change some reactions.
6. Bombing campaigns against southern India would commence and massive IJA fighter sweeps would come in from Burma and Ceylon to every available airbase target to render British air power useless. The replacement rates are low enough that the main issue will most likely be good AAA, although I know the Hurricane is tough in a defensive role especially. The KB and some other naval presence will stay in the area or close by to keep up the appearance something else will happen unless a major counter is occurring in the Pacific. (Most IJN LBA will be diverted to the Solomons and the Gilberts during this time to stave off any CV raids). Nicks would be brought in to try out against 4Es, and once the initial push has finished we will sit back and take attacks most likely, trying to conserve pilots over our own bases. One HQa Flot would be brought in for torp capability, with at least one large group of Netties and some A6Ms for long distance escort.
7. All Ceylon landing points will be heavily enough garrisoned by appearances, but will not use the better troops. Numbers could be high using garrison battalions, etc, instead of divisions. Some engineers would move in to build forts obviously, probably the 15 AV ones with about 48 engineers each. Once acceptable levels are reached these would be pulled out. The main hope is to keep the island as an advanced recon base and general distraction into mid-43. By this time hopefully the full weight of Japanese land power will have made some deep thrusts into China and the supply will have reached a critical point there. It seems any invasion would have to take out Addu and Diego as well to shore up the flank and reduce search capability, so I assume we would have time for more evacs once that has begun. Of course now that units can be bought back it's not quite as critical to get it all out, but I'd like to avoid having to rebuild over a 1000 AV of troops plus support.
8. If all goes to plan, I'd like to have Chunking in hand by mid-43. I'm not sure this is possible with a determined opponent, but that is the reason for this venture. If I can focus his attention elsewhere, maybe our troops can push through the first level of defenses and start movement in his lines. A good number of IJA MB and fighters would remain in China to maintain air superiority, and some IJN MB might remain in the area as well while there is a large presence of IJA in Ceylon.
I would welcome ANY thoughts about any of this.
This will give me a chance to gather myself and assess both the current situation and the future plans of the Japanese Empire.
Current Status:It seems that after a first shock of losing some valuable naval assets our forces have dug in and shown their mettle by quickly adapting to take most of the first objectives in the DEI, in China and in the Pacific without any more major setbacks. This has been helped by the Allies continued withdrawl from key areas before they've lost fighting capability and equipment, and the strategy which seems in play throughout the map of pulling back to a further line of defense and beginning to build there in preparation for future attacks.
Goals for the next month of continued expansion are listed a few posts back on 1 Jan I believe. Maps will be available tomorrow.
Expansion Strategy after SRA:
Now I'd like to ponder the next steps after the SRA and first Pacific Expansions have finished.
We're devising one prospective plan for an invasion before the deadline expires, assuming Java, Singapore and the PI are well in hand by then and no major crisis is looming.
---------------------------
Ceylon
Strategic Reasoning:
1. Deny the Allies a close support base for naval use and logistical support.
2. Attrit Allied air power where it is weakest in 42, among the British units.
3. Create a focus in this sector to draw forces and materials away from the support of China, which is the real strategic goal.
4. Create the impression that a Japanese invasion of India may be imminent and force my opponent to prepare for this eventuality by bringing in US forces and other support troops and air power that could otherwise be used in Australia, the Solomons, and in China.
5. Attract and learn to deal with the threats of Allied 4E attacks in a theatre of little importance before the masses of them appear in 43. I'm sure he'll be making some more night attacks here with 4Es. I'd rather have them be in Ceylon than in China or the Solomons.
Tactical thoughts:
1. The first step in this process would be to attempt to recon every base on Ceylon using Mavis from Port Blair and Glens from subs. If a fleet is present, which I highly doubt, there would be an attempt to sneak up on it with the KB after a feignt toward OZ.
2. Step two would be to invade the islands of Deigo Garcia and Addu, leaving some air support, a decent garrison, and search planes, most likely Jakes. Between these islands and the planes from Sumatran bases, there would be a narrow window for ship movement through this area. Hopefully in light of step 3 this would appear to be a diversion.
3. Invade northern OZ and give every indication this is a massive undertaking that would not stop there. Prep multiple units for Perth and begin to move units arriving toward their South Pacific destinations with an Aussie prep. I have units in Manchuria prepping now for every major base in every theatre including Anchorage, Pearl, Calcutta, Brisbane, Perth, Auckland, and Colombo. If the reports are going through, my opponent must know some subterfuge with destination preps is happening. The first division removed from Manchuria would be prepped for Perth but sent eventually elsewhere. Several divisions in Manchuria and the HI would have prep changed to OZ.
4. Before the window closes a massive invasion (4-5 divisions and support)supported by the KB (the mini-KB would move to the South Pacific) would take Ceylon quickly using troops from Malaya. Only a few smaller units would be prepped for the landing point. The convoy heading to Ceylon would be routed to Perth but have Ceylon as a waypoint, and change to the landing destination only once it's detected (I think this is possible, but haven't worked it out yet, but I have a test game head to head on now to work on some things like this). Obviously, long-legged ships would be needed, and separate surface and ASW would follow with it.
5. Most large ground units would be removed after the invasion with prep destinations in North India. They will head back to Burma. This will only create a momentary confusion as to destination, but if noticed it should change some reactions.
6. Bombing campaigns against southern India would commence and massive IJA fighter sweeps would come in from Burma and Ceylon to every available airbase target to render British air power useless. The replacement rates are low enough that the main issue will most likely be good AAA, although I know the Hurricane is tough in a defensive role especially. The KB and some other naval presence will stay in the area or close by to keep up the appearance something else will happen unless a major counter is occurring in the Pacific. (Most IJN LBA will be diverted to the Solomons and the Gilberts during this time to stave off any CV raids). Nicks would be brought in to try out against 4Es, and once the initial push has finished we will sit back and take attacks most likely, trying to conserve pilots over our own bases. One HQa Flot would be brought in for torp capability, with at least one large group of Netties and some A6Ms for long distance escort.
7. All Ceylon landing points will be heavily enough garrisoned by appearances, but will not use the better troops. Numbers could be high using garrison battalions, etc, instead of divisions. Some engineers would move in to build forts obviously, probably the 15 AV ones with about 48 engineers each. Once acceptable levels are reached these would be pulled out. The main hope is to keep the island as an advanced recon base and general distraction into mid-43. By this time hopefully the full weight of Japanese land power will have made some deep thrusts into China and the supply will have reached a critical point there. It seems any invasion would have to take out Addu and Diego as well to shore up the flank and reduce search capability, so I assume we would have time for more evacs once that has begun. Of course now that units can be bought back it's not quite as critical to get it all out, but I'd like to avoid having to rebuild over a 1000 AV of troops plus support.
8. If all goes to plan, I'd like to have Chunking in hand by mid-43. I'm not sure this is possible with a determined opponent, but that is the reason for this venture. If I can focus his attention elsewhere, maybe our troops can push through the first level of defenses and start movement in his lines. A good number of IJA MB and fighters would remain in China to maintain air superiority, and some IJN MB might remain in the area as well while there is a large presence of IJA in Ceylon.
I would welcome ANY thoughts about any of this.
"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm." - Winston Churchill
RE: South of the Border, West of the Sun - obvert (J) vs Dan Nichols (A)
Dang, lost another long, eloquent reply.
OK, the short version.
1. Great news that you can take CHI out of the game. BANZAI!
2. Ceylon: beware of traps. Allied players have 6 -12 months to prep for losing this, and they know (particularly in Scen 2) that they cannot hold it against IJ. They also know that to take it, you MUST commit the KB. Options available are everything from complete withdrawal on his part to MAJOR flak trap to naval ambush. Think everything through carefully from his perspective.
3. If you keep your KB exposed in the Indian Ocean, he should react in other places. Be ready for that. You are +10 days from either the Artic or Central Pacific. That's a long time and he can cause a lot of mischief in that time if he is ready for you.
Finally, remember that Port Blair is a long way from Ceylon and NavSearch degrades significantly with distance.
Good Luck!!!
OK, the short version.
1. Great news that you can take CHI out of the game. BANZAI!
2. Ceylon: beware of traps. Allied players have 6 -12 months to prep for losing this, and they know (particularly in Scen 2) that they cannot hold it against IJ. They also know that to take it, you MUST commit the KB. Options available are everything from complete withdrawal on his part to MAJOR flak trap to naval ambush. Think everything through carefully from his perspective.
3. If you keep your KB exposed in the Indian Ocean, he should react in other places. Be ready for that. You are +10 days from either the Artic or Central Pacific. That's a long time and he can cause a lot of mischief in that time if he is ready for you.
Finally, remember that Port Blair is a long way from Ceylon and NavSearch degrades significantly with distance.
Good Luck!!!
Pax
RE: South of the Border, West of the Sun - obvert (J) vs Dan Nichols (A)
Sounds like a good plan for taking Ceylon. The key is to do it sooner rather than later. By May-June the allies will have had time to form up some real strongpoints and Ceylon could be a tough nut to take if your opponent has chosen it for heavy reinforcement. A few random thoughts;
1. careful with recon. if you recon everything that far away too often, it will alert your opponent that something is up. I'd say recon it every once in a while while also flying recon over all kinds of far away targets.
2. I don't think your feint towards northern australia will do much. It's a well known counterintelligence tactic for the japanese player to prep for all kinds of targets he doesn't really intend to hit. Most japanese players end up taking Darwin to Exmouth anyways and most allied players are willing to concede this ground without much of a fight.
3. i wouldn't anticipate that bombing from ceylon will do you much good or attrit the allied airforce very much. what it will do is force them to garrison all the key points on the coast and to have to recapture Ceylon before they move on to landings in Sumatra/Burma/Malaya. Therefore, I'd leave enough air and ground power to keep any allied landing honest. The british carrier and amphibious fleet is weak for a long long time and any move on ceylon would require borrowing ships from the USN.
4. if you move quickly, what i think would be even better would be to capture Ceylon AND Perth. The Perth area is basically a big island IF you capture that little base (i forget it's name) that's at the end of the railroad from the rest of Australia. Grabbing this region would stop the allies from moving into the Indian ocean from either direction without capturing the japanese held citadels on the "shoulders". Again you have to move fast. The startup australian force in the Perth region is weak but can be made very strong if you give them enough time.
5. be careful with dividing your carrier power. the mini-KB is easy meat for the USN carriers if caught without the big KB carriers. I'd say keep all your carriers together or be very very careful how you use mini-KB when it's on it's own.
I'd love to hear about your plan for getting to Chungking. That's no small op for sure. I forget but are you playing scenario 1 or 2? (I'll check the first post after posting this and answer my own question)
ps. ahh ok, scenario 2. so you got more toys to play with.
1. careful with recon. if you recon everything that far away too often, it will alert your opponent that something is up. I'd say recon it every once in a while while also flying recon over all kinds of far away targets.
2. I don't think your feint towards northern australia will do much. It's a well known counterintelligence tactic for the japanese player to prep for all kinds of targets he doesn't really intend to hit. Most japanese players end up taking Darwin to Exmouth anyways and most allied players are willing to concede this ground without much of a fight.
3. i wouldn't anticipate that bombing from ceylon will do you much good or attrit the allied airforce very much. what it will do is force them to garrison all the key points on the coast and to have to recapture Ceylon before they move on to landings in Sumatra/Burma/Malaya. Therefore, I'd leave enough air and ground power to keep any allied landing honest. The british carrier and amphibious fleet is weak for a long long time and any move on ceylon would require borrowing ships from the USN.
4. if you move quickly, what i think would be even better would be to capture Ceylon AND Perth. The Perth area is basically a big island IF you capture that little base (i forget it's name) that's at the end of the railroad from the rest of Australia. Grabbing this region would stop the allies from moving into the Indian ocean from either direction without capturing the japanese held citadels on the "shoulders". Again you have to move fast. The startup australian force in the Perth region is weak but can be made very strong if you give them enough time.
5. be careful with dividing your carrier power. the mini-KB is easy meat for the USN carriers if caught without the big KB carriers. I'd say keep all your carriers together or be very very careful how you use mini-KB when it's on it's own.
I'd love to hear about your plan for getting to Chungking. That's no small op for sure. I forget but are you playing scenario 1 or 2? (I'll check the first post after posting this and answer my own question)
ps. ahh ok, scenario 2. so you got more toys to play with.