How to Fortify & Defend a Japanese Island properly?

[leehunt27@bloomberg.net]

hi,

Any thoughts, recommendations on the best mix of units to defend each Japanese island as the Allies turn to the offensive in 1943? Against say, one USMC division, supported by Seabees and a battalion of tanks on average? I know conditions can vary widely based on Allied bombardments, island sizes, air bombing, prepping etc, but all other things being equal, what do you feel you really need to make an island near bloody untakeable?

Obviously we'd all like to have 2 divisions, 2 tank brigades and a host of arty and engineers fortified at level 6 every island to stop the USMC cold on the beaches, but that's not realistic. I can make a few strongpoints like that, but there's probably a dozen islands i'd like to defend reasonably well with limited resources.

Let's say you have Guam at Fortification level 6, with 1 base unit, 1 construction engineer. How much Japanese AV fully prepped do you need to stop a 1 division amphibious landing? 2 division landing? What do you feel comfortable with given you still want to defend the other Marianas? What makes your opponent squeamish or decide to bypass?

I found out the hard way that a Japanese regiment (AV 116) recently landed on Canton Island, fully prepped at 100, but with fortifcation at only level 1- was easily steamrolled by a USMC division with a detachment of combat engineers. After only 2-3 days of bombardments.

So anyway, what do you deploy on your 6,000 max size island? Your 30,000 max size? On the unlimited islands? And what would you consider a sufficient "roadblock" force that will not survive but at least slow the Allies down, versus a nearly invincible defense?

Thanks!

(p.s. that's Mt Suribachi)

[dr.hal]

You are articulating the problem that faced the Japanese during the real war! The paradox is that if your fortify an island too much, the Allies will simply bypass it once they gain control of the seas! As an avid Allied player interested in saving electronic lives, I would recon the various island options open to me and take the path of least resistance knowing that you couldn't fortify them all! So in many ways you are caught (just like the real thing) between an island rock and an island hard spot! Hal

PS I know this doesn't answer your main question, but given all the variables I'm not sure there is an answer!

[leehunt27@bloomberg.net]

True, true, but i did have some more specific questions given some assumptions:

ASSUMPTION: Allies are landing a division of USMC troops, a battalion of engineers and battalion of tanks on a island, say 6,000 max, 30,000 max, whatever. What do you need given different levels of fortification to stuff them at the beach? Now let's say its 2 divisions. Because I can't defend everywhere, but i can also hope to steer him clear of certain areas too (like Formosa)

[PaxMondo]

As the IJ, I know of no way to stop the allies from taking a base from '44 on if they want it.  No matter your forts or troop numbers, they can bomb any single base island into oblivion.  The only effective defense, and several players have shown this masterfully, is to have a ready reaction force to immediately re-take the base back from the allies.  PzB's AAR documents this several times.

[crsutton]

Fortifications and supply are key. You will lose eventually but a lot of Atoll invasions come down to the Allied player isolating the base and pounding it before invading. However, if you are dug in and have supplies, you can last a good while. A CD unit does not hurt but they are scarce for Japan.

But just like said above, it is a Naval War and once the Allied gain control of the sea-any base they desire is doomed.

[castor troy]

ORIGINAL: PaxMondo

As the IJ, I know of no way to stop the allies from taking a base from '44 on if they want it.  No matter your forts or troop numbers, they can bomb any single base island into oblivion.  The only effective defense, and several players have shown this masterfully, is to have a ready reaction force to immediately re-take the base back from the allies.  PzB's AAR documents this several times.

which only works if the Allied player never was able to take out the IJN though. Something very rarely happens IMO.

[Miller]

As a rule of thumb I go for 100-150AV behind 6 forts for most Cenpac Islands. Some are simply not worth defending at all.....well maybe apart from a 15AV SNLF Coy to prevent a cheap para capture. And dont build up the ports or airfields any higher than necessary either.

[Captain Cruft]

Good question. I tend to believe that somewhere like Tsushima is the only place you could actually make "invincible". This is partially because of the uber fortress there but also because there are lots of large airbases very close by to protect it.

Out in the Pacific you will always be doomed, it's just a delaying exercise.

[JSG]

The real defence is to retain the ability to attack his supply convoys with torpedo bombers (G3M, G4M, P1Y), even if he bypassed your defences.

Some A6M can escort out to range 14 (preferably set to 100% escort, as they will rarely fly then and thus not have many ops losses despite the range 14 setting). Range 14 is enough to cover much of the Central Pacific with a half dozen island bases. Most of these (all between Iwo Jima and Tabitauea) are limited in their maximum garrison size, though.
An Air HQ and all else fine combat troops (with some AT weapons) should be the garrison.
G4M with A6M escort can take on convoys protected by one or two CVEs.

The Marianas can be defended with bigger forces, albeit not all of them. The opponent might grab some underdeveloped Marianas island and develop it into an air base (not necessarily a good B-29 base, though).

[PaxMondo]

ORIGINAL: castor troy

ORIGINAL: PaxMondo

As the IJ, I know of no way to stop the allies from taking a base from '44 on if they want it.  No matter your forts or troop numbers, they can bomb any single base island into oblivion.  The only effective defense, and several players have shown this masterfully, is to have a ready reaction force to immediately re-take the base back from the allies.  PzB's AAR documents this several times.

which only works if the Allied player never was able to take out the IJN though. Something very rarely happens IMO.

Correct. I never suggested it was easy.

Still, I stand by my initial statement: there is no way to deny the allies a target of their choosing from '44 on. They simply can bring too much force to bear on one spot. If you can react and retake it, this will delay the allied timetable considerably. And to reach the home islands by game end, they are on a tight timetable.

[leehunt27@bloomberg.net]

That's what i'm hoping for, to keep my opponent on a tight timetable. I know sometimes as the Allied player in WW2 games, you get excited with your overwhelming forces come 1944-1945, but unless you manage them aggressively and properly, it can sometimes be tough to do better than the historical results. If i can blunt his offensive just once or twice it could be the difference. I read that historically the invasion of Saipan was bumped up by 5 months because the other central Pacific islands rolled over so quickly. Then when the US hit Okinawa and Japan, the projections and fears over Operation Olympic and invading the home islands were greatly increased.

[aphrochine]

Besides counter attack, there are some things that I think can vastly slow the allies if the IJ plans for them from the beginning. But I shall not share. Treason's not my bag.

[leehunt27@bloomberg.net]

hey now Aphrochine, that's not fair! no sharing?

[PaxMondo]

ORIGINAL: aphrochine

Besides counter attack, there are some things that I think can vastly slow the allies if the IJ plans for them from the beginning. But I shall not share. Treason's not my bag.

Well, if you ever do an AAR, we'll all be reading. So far, nothing much else has been shown to work ...

[Crackaces]

ORIGINAL: aphrochine

Besides counter attack, there are some things that I think can vastly slow the allies if the IJ plans for them from the beginning. But I shall not share. Treason's not my bag.

Hmmmm .. why then post in this forum? [;)]

Although it is very difficult to defend a determined Allied offensive, the Allies have got to think .. "What now Olli!" after capturing an Atoll. Interlocking fighter CAP zones and patrol zones make building up and using the newly captured prize an adveneture. Then .. As a AFB the fear of counterattack has been the one constraint to my operation. I believe a force in being is critical to keeping this fear top of mind. That means using the KB judiciously to accompish strategic objctives and not willy-nilly on the counter-attack. The BB bombardment TF getting in and out at night is a real headache. This use of the IJN like this can delay the Allied advance one thrust at a time until the IJ lasts until '46.

I do propose that any unbalance in the IJ's MLR can be quickly ascertained and managed. The constant Intel about this unit located here and units moving on ships can provide valuable Intel to not only where the IJ are .. but where they cannot be .. So if the IJ decide to load one area more than another to make it impreganable .. soon the Allies will find that hole and exploit it .. That alone makes the IJ's task at hand difficult ..combined with the Allies ability to concentrate the tip of the spear and no particular base is absoletely impregnable .. but .. the Allies have to achieve auto-victory by 1945 and the IJ can make this a real chore ... that might be teh top of mind focus ...

[leehunt27@bloomberg.net]

I've wondered, due to Allied intel heroics, about preplanning divisions that are in reserve for islands to the front. Say-- 4th division plans for Tarawa while staying in reserve at Truk. That kind of thing. It can be fun as the Japanese player to preplan the entire Kwantung army for New Zealand at the beginning of the war and see what the Allied player does.

[Amoral]

ORIGINAL: leehunt27@bloomberg.net

I've wondered, due to Allied intel heroics, about preplanning divisions that are in reserve for islands to the front. Say-- 4th division plans for Tarawa while staying in reserve at Truk. That kind of thing. It can be fun as the Japanese player to preplan the entire Kwantung army for New Zealand at the beginning of the war and see what the Allied player does.

You can plan for three places at once with most LCUs. That will further baffle Allied intel, and give you more flexibility

• Divide the unit
• Have each element plan for a different location
• When you buy out the unit for deployment, choose the element that has the correct planning, and rebuild around it. The reconstituted division will have the same planning.

[AW1Steve]

ORIGINAL: Amoral

ORIGINAL: leehunt27@bloomberg.net

I've wondered, due to Allied intel heroics, about preplanning divisions that are in reserve for islands to the front. Say-- 4th division plans for Tarawa while staying in reserve at Truk. That kind of thing. It can be fun as the Japanese player to preplan the entire Kwantung army for New Zealand at the beginning of the war and see what the Allied player does.

You can plan for three places at once with most LCUs. That will further baffle Allied intel, and give you more flexibility

• Divide the unit
• Have each element plan for a different location
• When you buy out the unit for deployment, choose the element that has the correct planning, and rebuild around it. The reconstituted division will have the same planning.

While this will certainly work, it will also almost certainly be considered "gamey" by a great many players. You might want to consider the ethical implications. [:(]

[Quixote]

Since you can only afford to buy out only one division per month or so (if you spend PPs on nothing else), "gamey" or not it's still not really necessary. There are enough divisions in Kwangtung at the start of the game that as Japan you can afford to give each one a different potential future objective. This allows the Japanese player to keep the Allies guessing despite intelligence reports while still giving the Japanese player some flexibility in planning. When Japan saves enough PPs and finally commits to its stage two objectives, they then just buy out the appropriately prepped divisions and leave the others in place. In a complete no rules free-for-all Amoral is right, but in most games it's probably not worth the return on investment.

[Crackaces]

ORIGINAL: AW1Steve

ORIGINAL: Amoral

ORIGINAL: leehunt27@bloomberg.net

I've wondered, due to Allied intel heroics, about preplanning divisions that are in reserve for islands to the front. Say-- 4th division plans for Tarawa while staying in reserve at Truk. That kind of thing. It can be fun as the Japanese player to preplan the entire Kwantung army for New Zealand at the beginning of the war and see what the Allied player does.

You can plan for three places at once with most LCUs. That will further baffle Allied intel, and give you more flexibility

• Divide the unit
• Have each element plan for a different location
• When you buy out the unit for deployment, choose the element that has the correct planning, and rebuild around it. The reconstituted division will have the same planning.

While this will certainly work, it will also almost certainly be considered "gamey" by a great many players. You might want to consider the ethical implications. [:(]

Is it "Gamey" that it costs so many PP's to simply change HQ units even if those HQ's are unrestrcited? The game itself lends itself to "creative" solutions .... If in fact this is such an ethical issue and changes gameplay .. then I propsoe that the software should reset the preperation when the units are recombined ..