ORIGINAL: PaxMondo
He doesn't get that many 4E's until later in '43 also. So, you have time here to get all of your defenses in place.
If you're still thinking offense at this time ... well read Greyjoy/rader's AAR amoung many others. IJ players pursuing offense in '43 have a long history of demise. Every offensive naval action is a gamble with the odds against you. A defensive action with proper intel is your opportunity to edge the odds in your favor. Read PzB's AAR to see how effective that is. And note that he went on defensive after a decisive naval victory in '42 and stayed on defensive. He had his boundaries set and did not cross them, did not overexpand his defensive perimeter.
The Greyjoy success in hitting any late Japanese offensive is etched in my mind for good. This Anatom invasion was from the beginning meant to be my last foray in the area before pulling back, as I mentioned earlier. All efforts now will go toward hiding the CVs and building defenses. Of course I still wonder where the defenses should begin in this particular game.
I need to read more of how to us the KB as a right hook after the LBA jabs as PzB does so effectively.
I'm also pulling back in other areas. The Aleautians will have several 'fortresses,' at Adak and Attu, but I feel overextended there for any concentrated defense. If I hold Adak or Attu into the winter of 43-44 it will be a huge success in my book. That will be the goal, and other bases will be weakened so that critical units can be pulled back to the Kuriles. Cold Bay will remain an outpost to search the area and recon Kodiak, but only while he allows. If 4Es move in this will be shut down quickly.
A few questions.
1. I have two divisions South of the Solomons. Noumea and Koumac are building toward level 4 forts, but I'm feeling it would be better to have them at Milne Bay and at Ndeni. Any invasion of Ndeni will have to take on LBA in a big way, and at distance with 4E bombing lightly supported by escorts or sweeps. That would change though if I just left New Caledonia and the New Hebrides unguarded.
So the question is where do I start the fight? Should I keep the units far South, somewhat forcing him to invade there first, stalling for time while losing these valuable units? Or do I pull them back and give him the New Hebrides and Noumea, thereby bringing 4Es into range of Tulagi and the first ring of defenses?
2. If I do fight in the area South of the Solomons do I use the weakened but still strong KB supported by LBA from level 2 fields Anatom, Koumac, Luganville and Noumea? Mainly as I described, in a second punch kind of way, only if the US CVs are committed, have taken air losses and we have the element of surprise. Or do I leave this to token LBA groups only and a few surface raiding TFs?
"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm." - Winston Churchill
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