I know you guys mean well. It's easy to get downtrodden at times.
I've been questioning myself if it's worth continuing. I'm deciding to stick with it. I don't want to punish CF for doing well, and he's been a great guy to get to know. We will have been doing this one for a year at the end of this month. I've never gone this far into the game before, and I've been getting new toys out of the shipyards.
Independence is enroute to Pearl right now.
I'll check out your AAR,
SqzMyLemon. Vs Chx, right? I've read a few of them, but it's hard for me to see the big picture in them. Unless I'm doing it myself, the info doesn't tend to stick in my head. I've mostly been reading Mandrakes fights, but they do bounce around in an ADHD sort of way. I miss Canoerebel's fights, and I try to pattern my storytelling after his, being more narrative.
After his ravaging of Brisbane, it looked like Cannonfodder was heading back to Suva. His battleships and carriers pounded Lord Howe on the way through, and I guessed it was out of spite. Intel then warned of transports bound for there. All of one day's notice as it turned out. Lord Howe fell the day the troops landed. That's going to make supply/reinforcement to Australia from the US rather interesting. I'll probably have to route convoys south of New Zealand to Melbourne at this rate.
KB then proceeded south to the area between Oz and NZ and caught a returning big supply convoy, ravaging it good.
Due to these moves, I have an invasion convoy for Baker Island already outbound from Christmas Is. One USA infantry division, two USMC armored battalions and one artillery. Base forces and engineers for there are a day behind them. One BB is in the invasion force and two more are going to bombard. Two CVEs will provide some air cover against any potential Nettie raids. If KB is going to keep screwing around in the south, I should be able to smash and grab Baker and hopefully be out quickly. I'm using my new assault ships, so I'm hoping they offload quickly. I lost sight of KB last turn, but the turn before they were halfway between Sydney and NZ. My invaders are unseen as of yet, but they're only about 2 days out of Xmas. I will abort if KB doesn't cooperate. I figure 2-3 days steam at full throttle if he decides to contest, probably losing all his destroyers on the way. I've had a knack of catching them with my old battleships, but hopefully it won't come to that. I'd like to relieve him of Baker, as it takes away a search bulge he has heading to the east. If I can grab this island quickly, I have plenty of planes I can move in. Some PBYs running from there would be helpful -- Maybe even some recon PB4Ys to scout out the Gilberts.
I'll keep tinkering with the "hit 'em where they ain't" strategy. Maybe I can get one of the northern Jimas in the Kuriles. Most look empty except for Paramushiro-jima, which is in the 6,000 range troopwise. A squadron of fighters is there, too. That would be a long haul for KB to rescue, and I doubt their fuel would last that long.
I've had a couple convoys unloading base units and supplies at Vava'u. Netties have been harassing them, but have only hit three or four ships in as many days, including a converted British CLAA. They've been unsuccessfully obsessed with trying to hit an
Omaha CL. None appear fatal so far, the worst hit are heading to Pago Pago. I just flipped this island to air level 1 last turn, so now a squadron each of Wildcats and Jugs are CAPping, hopefully ending this. I think about 150 air support are present now. This island is probably the most exposed of my network there. (Vava'u, Niue, Ta'u, Pago Pago and Savaii) I have fighters and SBDs on all of them. B-25s and A-20s are also present, along with PBYs. A pity I didn't think of doing this to the Suva area a year ago, but I guess there's only one way to learn...
A couple days ago my planes in Australia hit a convoy unloading at Buna. Of course, the escorted SBDs (Hellcats) get beaten off by the CAP, but the unescorted Mitchells sail in past the CAP with nearly every one getting a hit. Things work backwards sometimes.
Believe me, my next Allied game will be different.
