Greyjoy(J) vs. Obvert(A) - The air war in China- DBB, SLs, PDU OFF

[Lowpe]

ORIGINAL: GreyJoy

How many ships involved in the operation "rescue"?
320 xAKs and AKs, 60 xAPs, 3 LSDs, 5 DMSs, 27 Es, 67 PBs and 1 APDs...
Not counting the 20 AOs, the KBs and its escort plus the surface warfleet...

Holy overkill! [X(]

I don't think you are serious about this rescue operation -- you should have at least one more APD to allocate to this operation unless she sunk and you didn't convert any others.[:D]

[ny59giants]

Not an AFB, but a Carnage Fan Boy for this rescue operation.

[koniu]

ORIGINAL: Lokasenna

ORIGINAL: GreyJoy

How many ships involved in the operation "rescue"?
320 xAKs and AKs, 60 xAPs, 3 LSDs, 5 DMSs, 27 Es, 67 PBs and 1 APDs...
Not counting the 20 AOs, the KBs and its escort plus the surface warfleet...

So much Fuel [X(].

KB plus all those transports
I believe 40-50.000 tons[X(] of fuel daily can be save number( at cruise speed). Flank speed can triple that

For allied player that are not big numbers but for Japan it is huge. Palembang is producing ~10000 tons daily

[GreyJoy]

ORIGINAL: koniu

ORIGINAL: Lokasenna

ORIGINAL: GreyJoy

How many ships involved in the operation "rescue"?
320 xAKs and AKs, 60 xAPs, 3 LSDs, 5 DMSs, 27 Es, 67 PBs and 1 APDs...
Not counting the 20 AOs, the KBs and its escort plus the surface warfleet...

So much Fuel [X(].

KB plus all those transports
I believe 40-50.000 tons[X(] of fuel daily can be save number( at cruise speed). Flank speed can triple that

For allied player that are not big numbers but for Japan it is huge. Palembang is producing ~10000 tons daily

Sure enough, it's an expensive operation. However I do believe it is a badly needed one.
I know this is a "naval game" as Bullwinkle always remembers us, but there is a deep strategic value is rescuing a 130,000 men crack Japanese Army. In the right places, this army still rapresents a great bastion to take over for the allies.
So, no matter the cost, this operation is needed.

[GreyJoy]

ORIGINAL: Sangeli

What's the status of Madras' air base? Would be nice to do the evac at a time when you can get some LBA CAP to compliment the KB CAP. Not to mention you can get away with it going badly as you can load up all the damaged planes into ships anyway.

Madras is a level 9 AF. No damage at all, due to the fact that he never attacked it in the last weeks, being completely concentrated on shutting down Ceylon.
At the moment Madras has 900 fighters, spread between 2,000 and 25,000 altitude CAPs

[GreyJoy]

ORIGINAL: Sangeli

ORIGINAL: ny59giants

Nic,

I have mixed feelings for "Operation Dunkirk." [:D] Part of me wants to see how many transports get sunk, but I don't think Obvert has enough DB/TBs to do much damage. Its still early enough in '43 for him to have many Attack Bombers, but if you get seen I would have some fighter down below 10k just in case he sets some on LowN.

Well I don't think there will be a lot of transports sunk unless the KB Zeroes all get shot down. There's just no way that the Allies will have coordinated naval strikes that can get through heavy CAP. But the Allied fighters all sweeping against the KB Zeroes are going to cause some real damage given a few days of unrestricted sweeping. Its certainly possible if this OP drags on too long that a bunch of transports do get sunk if the KB fighters dwindle too much.

I won't risk my KB flying LRCAP over a base in our hands (Madras). KB protection is much more important that transport protection. However the KB can be a shield in front of the transports. His bombers will surely target the KB, thus leaving the transports alone with their own LBA CAP.

[Encircled]

320 xAKs and AKs, 60 xAPs, 3 LSDs, 5 DMSs, 27 Es, 67 PBs and 1 APDs...
Not counting the 20 AOs, the KBs and its escort plus the surface warfleet...

Surely with that many ships, your troops can just use them as a massive bridge to Sumatra?

[GreyJoy]

ORIGINAL: Encircled

320 xAKs and AKs, 60 xAPs, 3 LSDs, 5 DMSs, 27 Es, 67 PBs and 1 APDs...
Not counting the 20 AOs, the KBs and its escort plus the surface warfleet...

Surely with that many ships, your troops can just use them as a massive bridge to Sumatra?

I know there are a lot of ships. Maybe too many. But, remember, I need to load 100,000 men in a single night, with reduced cargo (DBB-C) and without any amphib bonus (so 250 or 500 for AKs tons per phase).
That means that 100,000 men have to be loaded on a single phase (night) and that the following morning the WHOLE transport fleet must be out of the Madras hex base (emptied by every LBA fighter cover) the following morning, where it will be shepherded by the KB.
That's why I wanted to be sure to have enough ships with me... better safe than sorry

[GreyJoy]

Orders are given to evacuate Patna-Ranchi-Jamesephur-Ansalon area. Small garrisons are moved with AA units to the dot bases that keep the minor railway connection open from Assam to Calcutta area.
2 Armies (6 divisions) will move to cover the Dimampur-Imphal line, while 1 more army (3 divisions) will be moving towards Burma via Chittagong-Akyab.

Hope to catch Erik by surprise with this move

[witpqs]

ORIGINAL: GreyJoy

ORIGINAL: Encircled

320 xAKs and AKs, 60 xAPs, 3 LSDs, 5 DMSs, 27 Es, 67 PBs and 1 APDs...
Not counting the 20 AOs, the KBs and its escort plus the surface warfleet...

Surely with that many ships, your troops can just use them as a massive bridge to Sumatra?

I know there are a lot of ships. Maybe too many. But, remember, I need to load 100,000 men in a single night, with reduced cargo (DBB-C) and without any amphib bonus (so 250 or 500 for AKs tons per phase).
That means that 100,000 men have to be loaded on a single phase (night) and that the following morning the WHOLE transport fleet must be out of the Madras hex base (emptied by every LBA fighter cover) the following morning, where it will be shepherded by the KB.
That's why I wanted to be sure to have enough ships with me... better safe than sorry

Sure it looks like a lot of ships - hell, it is a lot of ships - but you are doing it right. If something like this didn't look like overkill that would be an almost sure sign of coming disaster. Even 'doing it right' there is no guarantee that you will get 100% in one day, let alone one night (phase). The game results are intended to be slightly fickle in practice with all the 'die rolls' and such. Any little thing can throw off your best calculations...

[veji1]

ORIGINAL: GreyJoy

Orders are given to evacuate Patna-Ranchi-Jamesephur-Ansalon area. Small garrisons are moved with AA units to the dot bases that keep the minor railway connection open from Assam to Calcutta area.
2 Armies (6 divisions) will move to cover the Dimampur-Imphal line, while 1 more army (3 divisions) will be moving towards Burma via Chittagong-Akyab.

Hope to catch Erik by surprise with this move

This is all going to open a new phase of the war, very interesting.

[Encircled]

Oh, not a criticism Greyjoy, you have to bring the kitchen sink.

I'm with witpiqs that it is going to require everything to go well to pull this one off!

Good luck!

[GreyJoy]

ORIGINAL: veji1

ORIGINAL: GreyJoy

Orders are given to evacuate Patna-Ranchi-Jamesephur-Ansalon area. Small garrisons are moved with AA units to the dot bases that keep the minor railway connection open from Assam to Calcutta area.
2 Armies (6 divisions) will move to cover the Dimampur-Imphal line, while 1 more army (3 divisions) will be moving towards Burma via Chittagong-Akyab.

Hope to catch Erik by surprise with this move

This is all going to open a new phase of the war, very interesting.

Surely my positions will be less strong and more voulnerable in Burma and the allied perimeter will be much closer to my inner one (DEI), but the whole indian perimeter was becoming less and less defendable. The allies simply had too many good bases too close to my own and the results of the last 3 weeks of air battles over Ceylon have been really telling.
I need to create a new perimeter far away from the allied LBA so to gain some time. The best way is to abandon India and leave a small garrison at Ceylon (so he will have to conquer it first). By the time he will be advancing towards the Adamas and Sumatra, I will have (hopefully) enough defences to be able to stand a fight.
In Burma will be different...but Burma is a good place to fight in 1943...especially if I manage to connect China and Burma

[Lowpe]

This is a really cool operation! My hat is off watching you do it. I am reminded of Captain Cruft pulling a much smaller operation, but all the AKs in the IJN, at withdrawing from Bangkok in one day

Good luck! It will be fun reading....take lots of screen shots, pretty please!

[crsutton]

ORIGINAL: Lowpe

This is a really cool operation! My hat is off watching you do it. I am reminded of Captain Cruft pulling a much smaller operation, but all the AKs in the IJN, at withdrawing from Bangkok in one day

Good luck! It will be fun reading....take lots of screen shots, pretty please!

Yeah, it will be a nice feat. But frankly, this is something that needs to be fixed. Nobody should be able to pull 100,000 men out of any port in one night-at any time or place. It should be impossible. More like a full week to get that many troops out.

[Lowpe]

Dunkerque in a day.[:D]

But the operation isn't done yet, we have to see what happens.

[GreyJoy]

Ok guys.

Here we go...

[GreyJoy]

31 mar 1943


The last 45-ships TF is approaching Madras.
Madras today had 1200 fighters/fighterbombers. Enough to discourage any attempt to set his bombers on Naval attack.
As you've seen, Erik found at Tricomalee 300 crack fighters... he probably has sniffed the CVs and his nav search has seen the 60 ships approaching TRicomalee. I guess he considered i was abbandoning Tricomalee, also because of the position of the KB...
The fact tha Trico has suddenly become repaired and operation has probably drawn his attention...

[GreyJoy]

On April 1st, 1943...


.... ALL the fighters are transfered at night from Madras to Tricomalee... Madras skies will be left empty tomorrow....
The KB is ordered to move 1 hex SW of Madras, on the coast, while the Trico rescue fleet moves towards Trico, dribbling several subs...

[GreyJoy]

When the morning of April 1st arrives...
ALL the transport TFs moves out from MAdras, after having loaded 90,000 men, and joined the KB 1 hex SW of Madras....
Erik doesn't attack nor Madras nor Trico, probably due to the heavy resistance found yesterday over TRico...
The Trico rescue fleet reaches Trico harbour...shielded by 1200 fighters now[:D]