GC - Early War Base Forces/Deployments

[Catterick]

Hi, new player here with some, (OK, a lot) of questions about the early game. I've spent a lot of time looking at AARs and various forum posts on supply etc and just kicked off my first AI GC game using the AE Allies spreadsheet to do the first turn (took me nearly a week..........)

Onto the questions, (I'm looking for advice on deployments and force composition as I have no idea what is considered a 'good' number of troops to have in various bases). I don’t want to spend hours (maybe days with my speed ) planning force deployment and end up screwing up by not allocating enough troops to bases (or too many to each base). China and Burma I hope I’ve got a decent idea on, not many variations there I assume against AI (famous last words?)

I plan on holding Midway, Johnston, Palmyra & Canton Isl. Suva, Pago-Pago, Luganville, Noumea, Port Moresby. Going to try and hold as long as possible at Bataan, Singapore (delaying forces plus 2 line defence) & Palembang (but try to extract Aussies from Singapore).

Sorry for long post, I’ve put in what I’m thinking of doing, just wanting some vet’s to comment………

I'm going to hold Wake initially by rushing in Lexington and Enterprise (fast forwarded this a couple of times so I know it's possible)

Q1. Should I stuff in more troops at Wake and try to hold it or pull out, I'm leaning towards pulling out as it can be hit by land based bombers from the Marshall Isles.
Q2. I plan on holding atolls but they seem to have 6k stacking capacity so planning to use (on each island) – does the below seem sensible?:
Base Force (1k stack?)
AA (release from West Coast - circa 600 stack) 25-29pp each
Art (Marine Def Bn's - circa 1200)
INF @ Midway, Johnston & Palmyra - 2 x Bn each from breaking down 2 x Hawaii Regt's - circa 2k for each island.
INF @ Canton - Reform 298 INF Reg from PH outlying islands and move to Canton
Q3. Is it worth deploying FTR planes at these or just PAT?

Pearl Harbour
Form 24th Inf. Div by shipping in 34 regt as PH Inf defence
Backfill outlying islands with later reinforcements (1, 2 and 3rd/102 Bns)
Backfill AA & Art in PH until a couple more there then look to ship on other reinforcements.
Xmas Isle (Pac) Throw something in there, maybe a Bn plus Johnston Isle & Palmyra ART Dets?

South Pacific
Pago-Pago - moving in 8th Marine + AA (big) from PH, already has ART
Suva - same as Pago-Pago, need to find a 'spare' regt/brigade INF (thinking of 201st from Kodiak, Alaska and shipping up some INF from SF area to Kodiak to backfill)
Nadi - forming 8 NZ brigade, AA (from PH) + Marine Def Bn
Savaii - Move Samoan Marines there + BF, maybe Marine Def or FA Bn (from West coast Pac Fleet), maybe final PH AA, maybe USMC Para's (41pp)?
Q4. Does this look enough for these S. Pac. bases, do I need to put more in? Maybe more later?
Q4a. Again, just patrol planes or add FTR planes also?

South West Pacific
Luganville & Noumea - Moving in an FA Bn and BF to each. INF - No idea, seem to be running out of INF?? Will Oz brigades arriving after 45 days or so be in time?
Efate & Tanna – worth occupying?
Port Moresby - ART, BF, 8 Aus Div (INF - if I can get them out of Singapore……..)
Q5. or better to split 8 Div and send some to Noumea & Luganville?
Q5a. I’m assuming I will want FTR planes at all 3 of these.

Australia
Basically throwing a load of troops at Darwin with good garrisons at Perth, Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide & Sydney also. Perth also getting UK 18 Div.
Q.6 Is it worth garrisoning the outlying islands with patrol a/c and troops, Horn, Lord Howe, Norfolk?

Ceylon & India
Putting in Indian 44 & 45 Brigades, don’t want to lose Colombo or Tricom. All the rest to India/Burma border leaving good garrisons in Calcutta, Madras, Bombay plus at least a Bn. in the larger, minor ports.

Carriers
Q7. What to do with CV’s (obviously run for the hills if I spot KB). My current planning is:
CV Saratoga to patrol the Midway/Palmyra/PH triangle
CV Lexington for south of Suva (Lexington & Enterprise can combine if a juicy target appears)
CV Enterprise south of Noumea/Luganville
CVL Hermes near Ceylon – absolutely no idea what to do with this (Swordfish are just zero fodder)

Q8. Last one, for now [:'(] How would this setup stack up as a starter in PBEM for instance? I think I'm a long way off doing a PBEM but don't want to start with any bad habits that would be frowned on in PBEM

[mind_messing]

For what little my opinion is worth:

Q8. Last one, for now How would this setup stack up as a starter in PBEM for instance? I think I'm a long way off doing a PBEM but don't want to start with any bad habits that would be frowned on in PBEM

Fairly decent, but some things you'd never get away with.

Sending the USN carriers to Wake is a invitation to be utterly destroyed without harming the Japanese carriers: the Allies just can't compete against the complete KB in 1941 to mid-1942.

Your reinforcement plans look good for everything bar Austrailia. Darwin is a POW camp for the Allies if the Japanese make a serious commitment to taking it; no supplies will reach it by land, and it can be cut off from the sea easily. Instead of sending troops to Darwin, leapfrog up the bases from Perth to Darwin, building them up as you go.

I'd also reconsider your carrier operations. Having the Sara, Lex and Enterprise out fishing for minnows in the Central and South Pacific is a waste of time.

Instead, consider a carrier raid on Hokkaido as soon as the KB re-appears: this is fast becoming a standard move for Allied players, and for good reason. It can cause damage, build USN pilot experience, face only weak Japanese opposition and serve as a distraction from the main theater in the DEI.

[AW1Steve]

Something I've found is early in the war as an allied player , it's a waste of troops , planes and resources to try and hold small islands. Any time you see an island that can hold only 6000 troops , you cannot hold it against a determined assault. Mainly cause an opponent can always assault it with more troops , then pull them out the minute the island is taken.

What I do at vulnerable forward islands is pull the troops off , send in one or two FAST AVD's (the 27kt ones , not the 18kt ones) and deploy a PBY squadron or two. That way you have forward deployed scouting , but if you see the KB or an invasion force coming , you self-re-deploy the PBYS back to somewhere safe, and have the AVD's run like hell. The enemy takes an empty island. Several weeks or months later , you come back with an overwhelming force , land and kill everything on the island, have a party and run up the flag, then evacuate the island. Don't fix a thing.

You own the island for points (not that it's worth much) , you've killed the bad guys , you have a useful observation platform, and it cost you very little.

Now if you have a BIG island ,(which I define as one that can hold a division or more) go all out and put up a fight. Put everything you can. Then it becomes a forward OPERATING base. Build the airstrip, harbor and fortifications.

The thing is , little bases can only be defended by CV and large task forces. In some cases if there are a bunch of little islands they can mutually support each other. But early in the war? Let them go. You just don't have the resources to keep them , and they'll make great training for your green forces to retake them when you can start your march across the Pacific. But to defend the little islands with out strong naval air forces is just a waste.

Just my 2 cents.

[btd64]

Also keep in mind that you will learn by making mistakes. Play the game. mess up and start a new game with what you just learned. I've been playing for years and still forget this or that. There is a long learning curve. GP

[obvert]

In a PBEM the So Pac bases in the Santa Cruz, New Hebrides and even down to Fiji and Pago Pago are vulnerable if he wants them. Noumea is a gimmie for the IJ, but by going so far the Japanese side incurs the negative fuel and supply usage to resupply and fight down there. They're also then very far from any significant repair yard while Sydney becomes very useful.

Also don't load Darwin and the West Coast except maybe Perth in a PBEM. Against the AI it will work, against a human they'll find out and could land behind you and take other more vital parts of OZ. It's been done daily recently in a PBEM in fact.

You don't have to keep the US CVs together, but if you don't, don't plan to fight with them much. They're stealth and ambush weapons only early, and you have to know where the KB is before attacking anywhere.

Against a human you'l lose more than historical and can end up fighting to avoid a loss on VPs on 1/43 if the IJ player is aggressive. Yo have to at least prepare for them to go all out, and that means only putting troops forward if you're prepared to lose them.

[PaxMondo]

ORIGINAL: obvert

In a PBEM the So Pac bases in the Santa Cruz, New Hebrides and even down to Fiji and Pago Pago are vulnerable if he wants them. Noumea is a gimmie for the IJ, but by going so far the Japanese side incurs the negative fuel and supply usage to resupply and fight down there. They're also then very far from any significant repair yard while Sydney becomes very useful.

Also don't load Darwin and the West Coast except maybe Perth in a PBEM. Against the AI it will work, against a human they'll find out and could land behind you and take other more vital parts of OZ. It's been done daily recently in a PBEM in fact.

You don't have to keep the US CVs together, but if you don't, don't plan to fight with them much. They're stealth and ambush weapons only early, and you have to know where the KB is before attacking anywhere.

Against a human you'l lose more than historical and can end up fighting to avoid a loss on VPs on 1/43 if the IJ player is aggressive. Yo have to at least prepare for them to go all out, and that means only putting troops forward if you're prepared to lose them.

+1