Best Two Out of Three

[John B.]

@ BBFanboy and Capt. Harlock,

Thanks for the excellent advice. I did see that I have about 36 or so PT boats left in the pool. I do hope I get the chance to make more as these can get used up rather quickly should he keep the pressure up on Espiritu.

I wish I had though about the heavy bomber idea. But, he has so many TFs around there I'm not sure they would have attacked the BB TF and may have been shredded by the KB CAP if the bombers chose poorly.

I did get the satisfaction of sending the Ise to the bottom. It had taken a torpedo from a PT boat and then a dutch sub. I sprinted an electric boat to just outside of Guadalcanal which put three torpdoes into it within sight of safety. I don't know the fate of the two that were on fire, but, there were unexplained sinking sounds last turn so perhaps he lost two BBs in this foray. The same day another electric boat put three torpedos into a CS and sent it to the bottom with all of its planes on board. Feels good after my Noumea disaster.

As for the Akagi, I suspect moderate damage. First, he has not tried to track me down and second, the explosion report did list counter flooding. Nevertheless, with temporary superiority in the Indian ocean a British CA TF is steaming towards Verzagapatnam for a bombardment. I'm curious as to what surprise Scott has for me there but I have MGBs on patrol to try and root out any subs or mine fields.

[John B.]

Boy time sure does fly. I've been meaning to post for awhile, but here is the latest. In India, I think that the situation continues to develop very satisfactorily. Scott has pushed resupply convoys through to Vz. but he continues to pay the cost. The latest run appears to have resulted in the loss of two CAs two CLs and 5 Aks for the loss of two Amcs and a DMS. He still has a carrier TF in the Indian ocean but this turn he lost about 20 carrier planes for the loss of an Amc and 1 British plane. it's the problem of going up against land based air. Especially since my Enterprise class carriers are refitting at bombay so their air components are being used as anti ship squadrons off of Vz. A land offensive in the hex just to the right (north?) of Vz has lasted two turns now with Scott taking heavy losses and my units still being set to attack.

In the S.Pac he seems to have withdrawn his carriers for now and I have been mopping up on New Calendonia. Nouemea will be a tough nut but the rest of the island is mine. After that is taken, I'll be able to concentrate on clearing Espiritu Santo of the IJA forces on there.

China (as you can see below) is the big trouble spot. Due to my own mistake and Scott's agressive play he blew a hole open heading towards Chungking. I figure that I'll leave the open terrain between Chungking and the rough terrain to him. His air is just overwhelming and there is not much I can do to stop it. I'm flying in what supplies I can but it's not very much as Scott has taken to bombing Ledo et. al. while I'm concentrating my airforce on Vz. but, I'm trying to be creative. I have PBYs flying supplies into Chungking and a few B-17s taking something (not much) up to Hami where he has a secondary offensive going.

So, my only hope is that it will be hard for Scott to keep these troops in supply enough to take Chungking. I've checked the manual and looked for posts and I'm not 100% sure how easy it will be for scott. First, the supply push up route A to the base there. Do supplies get lost along that route? It looks close enough that the minor road will not be too much of a hindrance. More importantly, the supply push from the base to the spearhead going towards Chungking (B on the map below). It looks as if he has a 25 point penalty to cross the bad hexside plus some minor road penalties. Can he maintain a major offensive that way? I'm I counting things right?

[BBfanboy]

Nice job on the ambush with carrier aircraft near Viz. It is easy to forget that they can operate just fine from land! [:D]

Do you have some BBs to blast the Noumea defenders? Sounds like the IJN has left the field, except perhaps for subs.

[John B.]

BB Fanboy, two BB TFs are on the way from Sydney since all the Pearl BBs are there right now (except for a couple in refit. Scott may be getting set for some sort of run down to Espiritu as he has a lot of ships hovering to the north near Nadi. The second marine division is also heading down to Noumea along with the I amphib corps to help the dutch finally clear that nest out. I'm pretty sure he has very high entrenchments since he did not improve the airfield or the port there.

Some brutal land fighting near Viz. I lost 133 vehicles in one attack [X(] but he is taking heaving losses as well and the losses from bombardments indicate his troops are disorganized from the daily heavy air attacks and combats. I've rested two turns and now it's once more into the breach.

[John B.]

Hello everyone,

Well, as you can see by the picture below, Scott has burst forth onto the chungking plain. But, it is almost November 1942 and we all know that that is a very bad month for the Axis. He came across the main road bridge in the center and did the classic starburst. He made it to chungking where I had a number of corps who were tanned rested and ready and they pushed him back. I have strong forces in Kienko in the north and they advanced south while the chungking army is heading north (for the bridge in case it is not obvious). this past turn I won battles against both his northern and southern shoulders and manhandled three divisions and some HQ each of whom has retreated across the river. If I get to the bridge then the remaining elements near chengtu etc.. will be oos for real. The down side is the airforce. Scott has an ungodly number of planes. He has several hundred fighters and bombers. I finally got a decent airforce together including wildcats and managed to hand him his first air defeat in china this past turn but he has the numbers to keep on coming and now that I'm in the clear it's going to be tough sailing. Up in the north he is right next to urumchi but I've cut the road far to the south. will it be enough to save urumchi? we'll see.

In India he is now holed up in Viz and has over 100K troops there and large portions of the IJN at or near the port including the KB. The KB plus 140 land based fighters. I'm not sure how they all keep flying off a level 4 airbase but he manages to do it somehow. I also can't figure out if he's reinforcing or running away. I have 5 divisions in the hex and a lot of artillery is coming in. but, he has lots and lots of troops and at the very least he is landing more supply. The downside to me being in Viz is that now he can bombard me. I did sally forth with two CLs last turn who dodged airstrikes and managed to put at least 3 APs and two DDs on the bottom and maybe more. I'm gathering british fighters next to Viz to provide cover and may sortie out again tomorrow with a BB TF and two CL TFs from madras. If I keep close to my base he may not be able to use his KB very effectively against me.

In the So. Pac. I've basically cleared out New Caledonia and next I'll concentrate on the IJA elements who are still on Espiritu Santo. I'm not sure of my next target down there. it's only 1942 and he does have a lot of fighters (LCAP of 40+ fighters) so I'm not wild about heading into the hornet's nest. I kind of like Wake as a target as it opens a large hole in his search capability and gives one a highway to Guam and Saipan if I decided to bypass the So. Pac fortress complex.

My carriers are done upgrading but I'm leaving them in port for now. Nothing for them to really do and no sense in putting them at risk if I don't have to do so.

[John B.]

Hello everyone,

It's two weeks later and, I'm happy to report, there have been some successes to report. First, in China, the American planes (P-38s, F4Fs, and P-40Ks) along with the CAF managed to put a big bash in on the Japanese airforce, deprived of air cover the units supplied in Chungking and Kienko managed to meet in the road hex in the middle. Only a couple of units were trapped, but he took very heavy losses fighting his way out of the pocket. Now, I'm sitting still and trying to not spend any supply that I don't have to spend. I'm flying in about 400 tons per turn. Not enough to supply Stalingrad ([:D]) but any amount helps in China.

In bigger news, Scott cashed in his chips and abandoned the Viz. adventure. He took heavy losses in the withdrawal including 50+ planes caught on the field when it fell. The CV Junyo went down when it took a torpedo from a night air raid and then ran into the BB North Carolina which was out hunting along the coast (the NC took a torpoedo from a DD but made it safely to Colombo). Scott took heavy losses from his Indian adventure and also a significant opportunity cost as the clock is now ticking against Japan. And, now I have four US 2 Brit and 2 Indian divisions freed up along with scads of artillery and tanks. My plan is to run down the road to Imphal and not only kill the IJA units there but to trap the ones that have advanced further into the jungle. I should have overwhelming advantage with six or so divisions taking on one at at time. The units he pulled out of Viz. can't get there in time. Scott needs to start pulling back now but right now I don't see any sign of that. With more US divisions on the way, it's time to start thinking about an invasion of Burma. Anything to keep the pressure off of China.

In that vein, I'm pushing up central Australia. the road is not good so I"m not sure how far I can actually get, but if it ties him down then I'm getting some use out of the troops there.

I cleared out New Caledonia and his troops on Espiritu are showing signs of weakening. I'm not too wild about taking on the fortress he has made of the So. Pac. area but I may make noises towards Nadeni while my next real goal is Wake. I like Wake island. If I have it, it opens a hole in his search network. So, I may continue to make So. Pac. noises to distract Scott and keep his attention fixed there and run in for a crack at Wake in a month or so.

[BBfanboy]

Congrats on winning the campaign for Vizagapatnam! Getting a CV was a nice bonus. How many CVs/CVLs has he lost now?

[John B.]

BBfanboy, I owe the victory at Viz. to the simple fact that a US division showed up one day in the port next door before the Japanese armor coming out of Viz did. As long as I held that base he was limited to one airfield that I could shut down with bombardments and so it was long odds for Scott to keep it going there. Pretty amazing that a game like this with so many turns (we do it in Sweet Jesus mode as in "one day at a time") it boiled down to getting there fustus with the mostest in a single 24 hour period.

As for CV casualties thus far, I have lost the Hornet (still stings (pun intended) since that was to a single torpedo). He has lost the Junyo, 2 CVEs, and 4 CVLs. the total may only be 3 CVLs but even so his subsidiary carrier force has been whittled down.

[John B.]

Hello everyone,

Well, November 1942 is the time for big offensives against the Axis, just as Stalingrad and El Alemain are raging I've launched my counter offensive in Burma. I've moved almost all the forces from Viz to Imphal and just outside Akyab (as a general but not exclusive rule the US is at Imphal and the Brits/Indians/Aussies are near Akyab. His greatest danger is Imphal which is marked below as force A. I have six divisions to his one and at least 200 tanks to his none. He has artillery and an HQ and I have Wavel in the Indian HQ and slim underneath in charge of a corps. If I can make short work of Imphal (not a given, he may be very well fortified) my plan is to run down the road as he has two divisions on the wrong side. I can move down the road much faster than he can retreat and then those boys will be good and trapped with no supply except by air.

Near Akyab the force imbalance is not as great. He has two divisions and two tank units. I have 5 divisions and a whole lot of artillery (as well as some tanks). I may bombard for a bit before I attack just to see if I can soften him up. I do want to push down to Akyab/Cox's Bizzar as that will eliminate two airfields of his near chittagong. I have three badly damaged BBs there and the clock is ticking on their withdrawal (about 200 days for the most urgent). If I can get out of range of his fighters, it will be much easier for them to limp home to Colombo and get out without me having to scuttle them.

In China things have quieted down for now. I am pushing back in the far north as I have a small corps in the hills on the main road so Scott is finding it hard to resupply his forces up there. If I can continue to push, then I have a shot to retake Urmchai but right now that's just a pipe dream.

I think he has given up trying to save his forces on Espiritu Santo. I bombard every turn and have landed some major resupply convoys. I'm tempted to attack but it does not seem like the right time yet.

My plan for Wake Island continues to unfold. I'm slowly gathering the forces at Pearl and I'll just keep making moves towards Nadi in the So. Pac. to keep his attention down there. I may have a big fleet leave suva each turn and then return just to create some false radio traffic of activity down there.

In Central Australia, I'm not sure how far I can push given the bad supply but I do like to keep him busy wherever I can. My latest idea is the turtle attack. I'm gathering up all of the spare AA in Oz and stacking it with the divisions that will push north to Daily Waters. I hope to wear down his bombers that way.

Speaking of AA. I have a flak value of 111 at Ledo. Three days ago about 50 Helens came in for a low level attack (7,000 feet) and, according to the intel screen, only 5 made it home.

[BBfanboy]

111 Flak at Ledo! [X(][:D] I bet that was a shock for him!
In other AARs for the Australian interior putting flak with the troops was the key to reducing the bombers. It spoils their aim so your casualties are reduced and eventually the bombers have to withdraw from heavy losses. You plan looks good there.

[John B.]

BBFanboy,

for your viewing pleasure, there you go. Since they were coming in low and slow at 7,000 feet everyone got to shoot. [:D]

First,turn at Imphal went well. I did not drive him out but lots of causalities and disrupted and the forts went down from 3 to 2. The best sign is that all of my troops stayed in attack mode so we'll give it another go this turn. My troops did burn a lot of supply so China had to see the airlift reduced so I could divert supply to the Imphal battle.

In China my supply levels are slowly creeping up. Scott has opened a new front trying to take Changsha. Lots of divisions and artillery down there. He just did a deliberate assault which did not work but he's pushing and I'm not sure if I can hold out too long. Units from the Chungking fight are now heading down that way to bolster everyone up. China is a permanent state of crises.

the KB has shown up again this time headed towards Rabaul. Hmmm, I wonder what he's up to. I don't see a lot of merchant shipping around so I'm not sure if he has an invasion on his mind, but it's interesting that he has gone down there.

Sub war is pretty much on hold for December. The subs are all streaming back to base for the 12/42 upgrade (and, although not required by the game, to pick up new detonators for the torpedos).

[John B.]

Scratch one flattop.[8D]

got a little bonus near Espiritu Santo on the last turn. It looks like all those ships were heading my way to try to extricate the remenants of his forces on the island. He had an AP TF with the Unyo (sp?) CVE attached and, as it happened, I had a squadron of 25 carrier trained SBDs on hand. They put 6 1,000 pound bombs into the Unyo and took out at least two xAPs as well. I did not see a dead air group but if that CVE took that kind of pounding (it was obscured by smoke when last we saw her) and managed to sprint out of my PBY range the next day then she deserved to live. And, even better, there was no evacuation so the grinding down of these troops continues.

Not so good news out of china. Scott really walloped me south of Hengyang and now he's about to push me out of there. He's likely to take the whole Changsha cluster so I'll just have to hope I can hold him in the rough terrian. The supply situation is much better in China and losing those factories won't help but it should not be a catastrophe. I just wonder if he'll be a bit cautious coming directly into Hengyang. It has level 4 forts. Those should help against his relentless air bombardment.

In India he was pushed out of Imphal and, unluckily for him, he retreated down the road which has made him very easy to follow and to continue to bash. I launched an attack towards Akyab and, it did not push him out but casualties were fairly even so I continue to bombard while resting the divisions and I'll give it another go.

The subs are doing the December refit cycle and excited by the prospect of torpedoes that might actually explode!

As for Wake Island, does anyone know how many squads does it take to get to 6,000 men? I don't want to overstack in my invasion, or not by too much anyway.

[John B.]

There are so few Chinese success stories in this game that it's worth posting this one. [&o] Scott came boiling across the river and ran into a buzz saw! If I had supply I would counter attack but I don't so I won't. I've moved some transports into Chungking to speed the flow of supplies down here and I hope he's dinged up enough to delay another attack for a few turns.

I'm not sure it's worth the supply to try to rebuild the level 4 fort.

Meanwhile, this turn will see a series of attacks on the India/Burma border. Stay tuned.

[Capt. Harlock]

If I had supply I would counter attack but I don't so I won't.

Doesn't look like it would have been a good idea anyway -- the IJA has too many guns and vehicles still in operation.

But congrats on a successful defense!

[BBfanboy]

ORIGINAL: John B.


As for Wake Island, does anyone know how many squads does it take to get to 6,000 men? I don't want to overstack in my invasion, or not by too much anyway.

Two schools of thought on that: (I am assuming that at least 1/3 of the troops are a BF or construction)

1. If you don't want to overstack by more than 10%, use a marine regiment + 2 tank battalions + arty, and if you have room left, add an HQ (prepped for Wake), or a BF for support or more arty. You must have some ships in the amphib TF which are amphib loaded with supply only. Use the Port Service units to speed unloading at not much manpower cost.

2. Go in with at 2X the SL and provide a lot of extra supply (amphib loaded) to compensate for wastage. Have ships stand by to extract superfluous troops as soon as you take the island.

[John B.]

BB Fanboy,

Thanks for the tips. Since I won't be able to recon (without seriously tipping my hand) I may go for the overstack and extra supply just to put as much combat power on the ground as soon as possible. I'll also want a base force there for the aviation support to get PBYs into the air.

In other news, I do have one of his division groups trapped north of Imphal. He may be able to make it out, but it should be pretty badly beaten up in the process. I did get him out of the hex just next to Cox's Bazzar (who is Cox anyway) but he was able to pull out in good order. The next stop is Cox's Bazzar which will be another strong fight. but, I have two fresh US divisions landing in India that can go and join the fight in about a week. I've pushed into Burma from Imphal and two US divisions are about the make the road line. He has units there so the question will be how strong they are. I'd like to get established in the jungle in the north before trying to break into the mainland.

In China, he's pounding me in Hengyang. I have supply shortages and am flying about 350 supply points per day in (if a bomber isn't bombing its sending in supply). His bombers are really pounding me. I tried an ambush by flying in several squadrons of US fighters but, that was the one turn that IJA bombers did not fly, just the fighter sweep. Blah. The exact opposite happened in burma where my bombers flew but not my fighters on the one turn he set a 100+ fighter ambush. sigh.

In Central Australia my turtle continues northward and not much is happening in the South Pacific. Lots of fuel and supplies are flowing into Australia from both the US and Aden so I'm not faced with any shortages at the momement and the other bases (such as Suva) are also well stocked.

[HansBolter]

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy

ORIGINAL: John B.


As for Wake Island, does anyone know how many squads does it take to get to 6,000 men? I don't want to overstack in my invasion, or not by too much anyway.

Two schools of thought on that: (I am assuming that at least 1/3 of the troops are a BF or construction)

1. If you don't want to overstack by more than 10%, use a marine regiment + 2 tank battalions + arty, and if you have room left, add an HQ (prepped for Wake), or a BF for support or more arty. You must have some ships in the amphib TF which are amphib loaded with supply only. Use the Port Service units to speed unloading at not much manpower cost.

2. Go in with at 2X the SL and provide a lot of extra supply (amphib loaded) to compensate for wastage. Have ships stand by to extract superfluous troops as soon as you take the island.

I advocate this tactic as well. I often hit well defended atolls with full marine divisions with their corresponding armor battalion and artillery battalion.

I send along a second TF loaded with just supply.

As soon as the atoll falls, the division reloads and bugs out, leaving the armor battalion to provide defensive garrison AV while base forces and engineers start unloading.

You need to over stack in attack on atolls to get the odds you need to take the base.

[John B.]

Hans, Given that I have 15,00,000 or so supply sitting in S.F. and 2,000,000 or so in Pearl I'm going to follow your advice and have guys flining supply crates over the side.

Attached is the latest on the Burma front. Cox's Bazzare just fell this turn and now it's on to Akyab. It's been a bitter fight along the coast thus far and since my four divisions are each at 50+ fatigue and 40+ disruption one can only imagine the shape that Scott's two divisions are in. I figure my men can rest and reorgainze while they march south but sooner or later I'm going to run into a wall. I do have two fresh (one Indian and one US) divisions on the way. In the center there is an IJA division and support troops trapped and I've made it across teh river (which I suspect is the Irrawaddy). I'm going to run out of US divisions soon (one is near India the other has to come from the East Coast) but I should have enough to clear out Burma in a year or so, or at least that's my plan. Or, Scott will have to divert forces from China which would be equally as good.

The turtle heads north to glory in central Australia.

I'm really not sure what to do in the South Pacific. I have the NZ troops, the dutch troops, and three US Marine divisions available, but Scott has built it into a fortress. Any landing will take heavy ship and troop losses so I may bide my time until my strength gets overwhelming. My main goal right now is to keep him fighting and burning troops and supply.

The subs are all refitted and heading back to station waiting for the better warheads to start up in a week or so.

In China, Scott is simply bombarding Hengyang and now is trying to push his way into Changsha. My troops on the outskirts are hanging on by fingernails. The Chinese supply situation is much better, but, of course, for troops in bases its harder to resupply so I"m having to move corps out of bases, they get resupplied, and then move them back in. I'm resigned to losing the changsha city complex but I want to make him fight for it as hard as he can.

[BBfanboy]

About the troop fatigue/disruption - at the levels you have you may be losing troops permanently from the effects of malaria. No notice on the loss - some of the disabled squads simply disappear. If you have some supply and he does not, you can recover much faster than his troops so there is no harm resting your troops for several turns. They can march while resting too, if it is critical to move them now.

About fortress SoPac - no fortress can stand if it suffers weeks of bombardment from sea and air and loses all supply. It's a slow grind, but you need to cut those enemy islands off and grind away. The biggest issue will be prep time for landing troops.

About the subs and working torps - I believe I read that subs on station when the working torps arrive do not automatically get them - they have to RTB for that. Can anyone confirm?

[John B.]

BBFanboy,

I hope I don't have to send my subs back to get the new warheads. I just sent them all back in November and they are now redeploying here at teh end of December so it will be a pain if I have to do that (but a pain that is worth it for sure). If anyone knows I'd really appreciate hearing about it now.

Good point about the resting while marching. I'm going to push the lads for a few more days to see if I can get in one attack on the hex north of Akyab before he slips into Akyab. I may then hang out outside that town to rest and wait for some reinforcements. I'm sure his troops are dead tired as well since they fought next to Cox's Bizzare, made it into the town, fought there for several days only to be forced out with heavy casualties.

I'm pausing in the So. Pac since he has an intact navy and a very large airforce so, when I land, I expect to be met with many surface units and untold waves of aircraft. So, I'm a pausing and I pulled my major navy units back from Luganville and Suva just so he does not try a sprint in port strike with the KB.