Once Again into the Breach - Mike (J) vs. tc464 (A)

[Mike Solli]

23 Apr 43

Sub War
5 Fleet
4 Fleet

Nothing to report.

SE Fleet

Ted swept Gasmata and Talasea. Here’s the results:

Tojo: 5 shot down (1 KIA, 2 WIA)
Zero: 2 shot down (1 KIA)

P-40K: 6 shot down + 1 op loss
Kittyhawk: 2 shot down + 2 op losses

Other than that, nothing to report here. I’m sure he’s prepping for an invasion, but his bombers are resting. I’m not sure where he’ll invade next. There are several possibilities: Lunga, Tulagi, Munda, Shortland Islands or Gasmata. If it were me, I’d invade Shortland Island. I keep a Betty daitai there. That would force me to move them back to Rabaul. Not that they fly much anyway…

SRA

Nothing to report.

Burma

My army continues to slowly crawl out of its potential danger.

China

Nothing exciting today.

Other Stuff

Six Asashio class DDs entered refit at Singapore.

Number 4 of 5 PC Momi class entered refit at Shanghai.

The A6M5c R&D advanced to 3/44.

[Mike Solli]

24 Apr 43

Sub War

Today was an exciting (and rough) turn as you’ll see below. First off, the I-37 was caught SE of Dutch Harbor by a DD and DE and depth charged. She was hit twice and forced to the surface where she exchanged gunfire with the two US ships. She was hit several times and hit the DD Endicott twice and the DE Austin once. She slipped beneath the waves but did not sink! Her damage is significant at 14-97(63)-8(4)-0. She’s going to attempt to limp home to Etorofu.

5 Fleet

I have had MKB2 (Zuiho, Shoho & Hosho) up here for a bit in case Ted tried to invade Adak. There have been several Allied TFs moving around to the south and SE of Adak, but I was unable to get a good idea of what type of TFs they were. Well, I found out today. First off, a bombardment TF of 8 BB escorted by 3 DD hit Adak. They did moderate damage to the infrastructure and destroyed 13 Oscars on the ground. Then the real fun began.

Another Allied TF showed up SW of Adak in the morning and launched an attack with 60 Dauntlesses escorted by 34 Wildcats against Amchitka, causing little damage to the infrastructure and killing an Emily on the ground. MKB2 was out of range to the west at the time but had orders to head in that direction. When I gave those orders, I had no idea US carriers were there. Oops.

In the afternoon, the two carrier TFs were in range of each other. Now the fun began. There were several piecemeal attacks, but we got the first shot.

My first attack was 10 Kates escorted by 20 Zeros vs. 29 Wildcats. The Zeros lost 5 of their number and the Kates lost 3 to the Wildcats against 3 Wildcat losses. The surviving Kates found the BB South Dakota and the Hornet but missed.

The Allies retaliated with 18 unescorted Avengers, but my 31 Zeros shot them all down! Banzai!

My next wave was 14 Kates and 17 Zeros vs. 39 Wildcats. The Wildcats took out 10 Zeros and 10 Kates against 2 Wildcats. Ouch. The 4 surviving Kates saw the BBs Indiana and SD and lost one to flak for no hits.

The final attack up here was 18 more Avengers, this time escorted by 11 Wildcats vs. 26 Zeros. My Zeros shot down 3 Wildcats and 6 Avengers before the remaining dozen Avengers got through to my ships. Fortunately, they all missed and lost 2 more to flak.

With my spare planes, MKB2 is down to 48 Zeros and 18 Kates. I’ll try to stay away from the US carriers (Hornet & I think the Lex). I’m going to head NW then NE to go north of Adak and possibly hit a potential invasion fleet. I’m confident that Adak will hold out.

Base damage:

Adak: 3-49-83
Amchitka: 0-38-18

4 Fleet

Nothing to report.

SE Fleet

A total of 52 fighter sorties appeared over Gasmata and 12x 2E, 25x 4E and 25 fighter sorties were over Tulagi today. Little damage was done to the bases and 11 Japanese fighters, 17 Allied fighters and a B24 were shot down.

No sign of any fleets in the area.

SRA

Nothing to report.

Burma

I bombed the Chindits today with 115x 2E bombers.

China

Chungking was bombed.

Other Stuff

Not much to talk about. Total plane loss was 82 Allied to 66 Japanese planes.

[Mike Solli]

25 Apr 43

Sub War

The I-11 torpedoed an xAK SW of Suva.

5 Fleet

The two carrier TFs circled each other today, but were out of range. Neither did anything but repair damaged planes. My carriers are to the west of the Aleutians and the Allied carriers are to the SW of Adak, pretty much 7-8 hexes south of Amchitka.

Eight of my vaunted Judies (flying out of Amchitka) launched against a couple of DDs, losing 1 to flak and missing the ships for their effort.

The bombardment TF disappeared. I see a couple of small TFs, reported to be small landing craft, hanging out within a couple hexes of Dutch Harbor. No clue what they really are. ASW maybe? They’re both showing up as 4 ships.

My damage is being repaired. Adak is down to 3-49-82 and Amchitka is 0-34-0.

I’m keeping MKB out of reach of the US carriers because, while we both have ~50 fighters, I have only 18 Kates to about a dozen Avengers and 60 Dauntlesses.

4 Fleet

Nothing to report.

SE Fleet

A couple Allied DDs bombarded Lunga. The slight damage was easily repaired.

Allied bombers/fighters appeared over Tulagi and Madang causing little damage. Enemy fighters swept Gasmata again, but in far fewer numbers. Overall, losses were 2 each. Not much excitement at all compared to yesterday.

SRA

Nothing to report.

Burma

116x 2E sorties hit the Chindits today.

Ted seems to be letting me pull my army out of the road hex between Akyab and Cox’s Bazaar with no interference.

China

I took Paoshan today in a 2:1 attack. Two Chinese corps and a HQ were pushed out and the 14 USAF was destroyed. Losses were 216(2) Japanese to 3877(281) Chinese. Not much of China is still in Chinese hands.

Other Stuff

NE Turbo engine R&D advanced to 11/45.

[Lokasenna]

The destroyed squads for the Chindits mean they are all disabled, and out of supply. Keep up the bombing and you will kill the unit from the air. Fun times!

[Mike Solli]

Hi Lokasenna. Yeah, I suspect that's the issue with the Chindits. My assault division is moving a whole 2 miles a day and is still 2 weeks out. They may be just the garrison force by the time they arrive.

Working on the next two AAR turns. I'll get them out to you today.

Edit: I do have a paratroop regiment in the theater. Wonder if they may be making a drop tomorrow? [:D] Just thought of them...

[Mike Solli]

26 Apr 43

Sub War

The I-20 arrived at Adak today to drop off a midget sub. Of course, Ted decided to send some AMs there to attempt to sweep mines. The AMs DCs hit I-20 3 times. Ouch, or so I thought. Actually some of it must have been FOW, because the damage wasn’t all that bad: 17-50(21)-4(4)-0. She’s headed to Etorofu and then the Home Islands for repairs. My CD guns damaged all of the AMs and sank one.

Off Babeldaob, the Gunnel torpedoed and sank an 8150 capacity TK loaded with oil.

5 Fleet

Things are heating up here. Ted’s 2 CVs are still hanging out south of Adak. My carriers are to the west out of range. I’m giving my planes a chance to repair damage and my pilots to rest. I'm only giving them today because MKB is moving to the NW of Adak, 6 hexes away, just in case something Allied decides to stay in or around Adak tomorrow.

The 4 Allied AMs engaged the lone surviving MTB hitting her once with a 2 lb shell. My MTB survived and launched her torpedoes, missing, then roared in and shot up one of the AMs with MG fire. The MTB survived but will withdraw because she can’t reload her torpedoes at Adak. Oh well, she’ll hopefully live to fight another day further down the chain.

34x 2/4E bombers hit Adak’s port causing slight damage. They also sank the two ACMs tending the minefield. I don’t think it’ll matter. I suspect an invasion shortly. There are 150 mines.

Damage:

Adak: 17-49-73

4 Fleet

Nothing to report.

SE Fleet

Allied sweeps at Gasmata and Shortland Island and bombing runs at Tulagi are becoming the norm. It was a bad day for the Allied Air Force, losing 14 fighters and ~5 op losses to a single Oscar and a Zero op loss, with no pilot losses! Bring ‘em on!

SRA

Nothing to report.

Burma

My bombers hit the Chindits stuck at Ramree once again. Three Hurricanes attempted to intercept, but only one went home.

China

A Chinese Corps moved into the Kunming hex (which I control). I have a division, regiment and artillery unit, which attacked them, causing 370(10) losses to no Japanese losses.

Other Stuff

Reinforcements:
DDs Hayanami and Fjuinami (Yugumo class) – They’ll hang around the Home Islands until the 4 CVs are done with their upgrades.

Six ARs completed their upgrades after a year. Finally. Two are headed to Etorofu and two to Babeldaob. Not sure where to send the remaining two yet.

[mind_messing]

I hope you have the Kuriles already well garrisoned?

I don't know what your thoughts are in regards to the Aleutians, but for me the only real-estate worth holding is Adak.

What are your long term plans if the Allies are going all-out here?

[Mike Solli]

Hi mind_messing. Yeah, the Kuriles are getting there with more scheduled over the next month. I agree that Adak is the only base worth anything in the Aleutians. I have level 2 airfields at Amchitka and Attu. That's it. There's just a bit of infantry there to hold off a small invasion. Adak is the key.

Concerning your last question, that will be answered in my next installment. I'm working on it. You'll get your answer later today. [;)]

[GetAssista]

Great to see this AAR going again! Was a JFB bible for me when I was learning the ropes

[Mike Solli]

Thanks GetAssista. I appreciate the vote of confidence. Unfortunately, while I can still hurt the Allies, the outcome is already becoming apparent. [:(]

27 Apr 43

Sub War

I’ve noticed regular convoys heading to and from Horn Island to the SW so I sent a couple of subs to investigate. The I-157 and I-158 each took out an xAKL. Supply convoys I suspect. There are several other convoys in the area, so I’m going to harass him here so he considers using precious escorts in this backwater.

Ok, enough of the boring. Up at Adak, I had a sub stationed in each hex just to the NE, E and SE. They were there to take on any invasion fleet for Adak. Well, the I-160, to the SE of Adak, found a fleet, but it wasn’t an invasion fleet. It was the US carriers. [X(] She launched 6 torpedoes at the Lexington and hit her with only one. [8|] Too bad. the I-160 paid the ultimate price being forced to the surface with depth charges and then blown apart with 5” shells. The Lex is a tough old bird. The next question is, why are the US carriers sitting one hex off Adak? We’ll see.

5 Fleet

I suspect the answer to that question is to provide fighter cover for the ships heading to Adak. First was the 8 BB bombardment fleet hitting Adak one more time. They caused a little bit of damage, but nothing severe. That TF got away. Hopefully, a sub will intercept them tomorrow and ventilate the underside of a BB.

The remaining AMs in the ASW TF removed half the mines but 2 succumbed to the CD guns. One AM left.

Sunrise showed the Adak defenders the Allied invasion force: 2 big APAs and a couple of escorts. But, before that happened, planes from both sides took to the air. First, 8 Judys escorted by 13 Oscar IIbs launched themselves at the US carriers. The Oscars did an admirable job protecting the Judys from 22 Wildcats, shooting down 3 Wildcats for the loss of 4 Oscars but preventing the Wildcats from attacking the Judys. The Judys split between the BB South Dakota and the Lexington, missing the former and putting a 500kg egg into the Lex. I saw a fuel storage explosion and hoped for the best. [:D] Two Judys failed to return from the flak.

Next, 56 Dauntlesses escorted by 13 Wildcats attacked the port facilities at Adak! Wow! They could have obliterated my baby flattops had they been on naval attack. The damage they did (2 port and 2 port fuel) was minor and meaningless.

Finally, my carriers launched 11 Kates escorted by 15 Zeros and went after the ships in Adak’s hex. My mistake was that only Hosho’s Kates (2) carried torpedoes. The other 9 carried bombs. The sole remaining AM took 3x 250kg bombs and disappeared. The huge APA Crescent City took 4x 250kg bombs and was left heavily damaged and burning fiercely. She had already unloaded her cargo of the 41 Division in one phase! Amazing!

Along with the 41st, the other transport unloaded the 151 Combat Engineer Regiment. That was the entire invasion force. My forces bombarded and I see 360 Allied AV to 450 Japanese AV. On the positive side, I have level 6 forts, but on the negative side, my forces are brigade size down to battalion vs a division. Combat tomorrow will be interesting. I have 18k supply so that won’t be an issue.

Ted told me in an email today that he lost track of my carriers and thought I withdrew them. He was unpleasantly surprised when they showed up. He said the Lex has 27 sys damage, 3 major and no flooding. He thinks it’ll be only a couple weeks in the shop. He also said that the Lex and Enterprise were due to go to port to get their loads of Hellcats. Oh well. It’s inevitable.

I have some 8k endurance subs (4 + 3 Glen subs) that have been hanging out around Wake and Midway doing and seeing absolutely nothing. They’re moving up north.

It was a good day for my IJN carrier pilots. I lost only 2 fighter pilots KIA and another 3 WIA and no Kate losses.

4 Fleet

Nothing to report.

SE Fleet

More Allied sweeps and minor bombing runs today. Ted came out on top with 7 Japanese to 4 Allied planes shot down. I lost 1 IJN KIA and for the IJA, 3 KIA and 1 WIA.

SRA

Nothing to report.

Burma

Nothing to report.

I’m going to look at dropping a Para regiment on Ramree. I think I have them and transports in place, but I’ll check on that next turn.

China

I hit the Chinese Corps at Kunming again causing 329(41) Chinese to no Japanese casualties. Looks like I killed off the last of the infantry in that unit. I’ll hit them again next turn.

Other Stuff

Ki-100-II R&D advanced to 4/44.

D4Y2 R&D advanced to 10/43. I upgraded the 3x30 Judy R&D factories to the D4Y3 for a couple of reasons. First, the Y3 model is the one I really want. Second, the Y3/Y4 models use the Ha-33 engine, as opposed to the Y1/Y2 models, which use the Ha-60 engine. Nothing else I want uses the Ha-60 engine so I shut it off. There are 508 Ha-60 engines in the pool. I’ll continue to build the D4Y1 (1x30 operational factory) until 10/43 when it upgrades to the Y2 and then build it until the engines are gone. I’ll use them for Kamikazes later. I have a size 40 and 80 Ha-60 factory that I’ll convert to other uses when needed, probably soon. I need to figure out what I will need for late war.

[Malagant]

Great to have you back, Mike!

[Zorch]

ORIGINAL: Malagant

Great to have you back, Mike!

+1

[Mike Solli]

Thanks guys. It's good to be back. I missed this. Finished the next turn. It was, lets say, frustrating. Nothing bad, but an opportunity that just wasn't in the dice. Too bad. It would have been more fun. Anyway, I'll write it up and post it tomorrow.

[Mike Solli]

28 Apr 43

Sub War

Nothing to report.

5 Fleet

I had sent up a couple of 4 DD Fubuki divisions from Truk to wreak havoc. I squandered the first (stupid me). The second was hiding to the west of the Aleutians. I saw some ships coming and sent them on a full speed run to Adak, just in case. This time it paid off (sort of). The DDs found a follow-on invasion force and went after them. The Allied TF was composed of 5 APA, 1 AP, 3 LSI(L) escorted by 3 DD and a DE. They immediately attacked expending just about all their torpedoes (only 2 shots left) and a good number of shells. They hit absolutely nothing! [8|] In return, two of the DDs were each hit by a single 5" shell. They must have been duds because one DD had 2 sys damage and the other had 1 sys and 1 engine damage. Fortunately, they force the enemy TF to withdraw. My TF is withdrawing to Etorofu to rearm and return.

After sunrise, 3x B-24s, 12x Bolingbrock and 3x B-25s came to attack the troops. I had 8x Oscars on LRCAP and they shot down 2x B-25s. The aircraft did no damage.

Later, 7x B-25s and 8x B-24s came in separate attacks to hit my port. They did a few points of damage to the port.

Finally, the Allied deliberate assault went in. It's what I had been waiting for. The 1:4 attack against level 6 forts was a disaster. The Allies lost 624(7) to my 81(7), and my losses were actually far less. According to the attack results, I lost an infantry squad and 6 guns destroyed. Actually, I lost only 1 squad. Of all my guns, only 1 DP gun is disabled. No guns were lost. Banzai! Unfortunately, I won't counterattack them. My troops probably aren't up to the task. I will bombard them though to kill troops and supplies and keep their disruption and fatigue up.

Overall, not a bad turn up here.

Damage:

Adak: 48-57-77

4 Fleet

Nothing to report.

SE Fleet

I think Ted meant to rest his weary air force today, but two Kittyhawks swept Gasmata and only one returned.

SRA

Nothing to report.

Burma

No planes flew on either side.

I gave the order for the 4 Parachute Regiment to perform an air assault tomorrow on Ramree with the mission of destroying the 77 Chindit Brigade. They have been prepping for this mission and are currently prepped at 88. If the 54 transports fly, it should be a mission for the record books.

China

I hit the Chinese Corps in Kunmimg beating them up and surrounding them. The remnants surrendered.

Something very interesting is happening in China. The Allies control only 5 bases in China. One doesn’t count because an army ~100k strong is sitting, surrounded, in the base with no supply. The other 4 are the bases on the “Chungking plateau”. To the south of Chungking is a base I control behind a river (can’t remember the name). Anyway, I have an army heading to the city to the NE of Chungking on the plateau. My army is only a few hexes away. As you all know, some destroyed Chinese units return at 1/3 strength at Chungking, so the army there usually grows to a huge size. A few months ago, I sent a couple divisions up from my base toward Chungking to beat up stray units. He sent an army half a million strong down and attacked them doing a number on my two divisions. That Chinese Army (131 units) ran down the road to the hex next to my base across the river. It’s been sitting there ever since. My intel tells me that there are only 5 units in Chungking! The other 3 bases have 1, 1 and 2 units in them. I’m hoping to get Chungking. I’ll have to take one, single unit base first, but then I can run for Chungking. I think I can do it. My army that is almost at the Chungking Plateau has a few divisions, a couple brigades, the 3 Tank Division and half a dozen or more artillery. This should begin in a week, maybe less. I’ll post a screen shot so it’ll make some sense.

Other Stuff

The N1K1-J George R&D advanced to 5/43. Today, I upgraded the R&D factories to the N1K2-J. On 1 May, I’ll convert 2 current operational factories from the A6M2 (they’ve been off for months) to the George, a size 30 and 60 factory. I have a couple other factories that are currently unused. I will convert another factory to a size 30 factory giving me a monthly production of 90 in a month and 120 in 2 months.

I’m going to have to do a little planning for my Ha-45 engines. This will eat up more engines per month so I’ll need to probably convert another factory to the Ha-45. I have a size 40 and 80 Ha-60 engine that is now unused so one of them will probably be converted.

Ok, I looked at my factories. I have 4x Ha-45 factories (180, 120, 120, 65) that are all upgrading and will be at those sizes in a month. In a month, I’ll produce 16 engines a day. I currently have 287 engines in the pool. Once that hits 500, then my needs will increase dramatically:

R&D
Frank: 30, 30, 28, 19, 14, 2, 0 & 53 (size 55)
George: 30, 30, 30, 30, 30, 30, 13, 13, 8
Peggy: 16
Francis: 30
Myrt (night fighter): 8, 4, 3
Grace: 21, 16, 14, 13

Eventually, I’ll need a lot for R&D but in a month I expect to need 11 a day, just for R&D. Add to that 4 per day for the operational Georges, that’s 15 per day, or 450 total factories to break even. In a month, I’ll have 485 factories or 16 a day. I am going to increase the size 65 factory to 90. I am also going to convert both Ha-60 factories and increase them to 60 & 90. If I do that, my engine production will be 660 a month or 22 a day. I will be producing that much by the end of July 1943. I’ve decided (based on reading other AARs) that I want my engine pools to be in place for late war. This will cut into my HI pool, but much of the HI pool is for airframes and engines. May as well create the engines early. They won’t rust.

Ok, here’s what my Ha-45 engine factories will look like at the end of:

April: 153, 92, 92, 28, 2, 2 = 369
May: 180, 120, 120, 59, 33, 33 = 545
June: 180, 120, 120, 89, 63, 60 = 632
July: 180, 120, 120, 90, 90, 60 = 660

It will cost a total of 300k supply or about 100k a month for the next 3 months, a third of my current excess supply produced each month. That hurts a bit, but I’ll live with it. I do it either now or later. I expect my supply production to decrease late war, so I’ll take the bite now.

HI expenditures for the engines produced by these factories (when complete) will be increased by 5400 a month or 180 a day. My current HI pool increase is about 5700 a day so that’s not bad.

This got me looking at my other engines. The one that stands out is the Ha-35. I’m just keeping my pool above 500 by shutting off Zero and Oscar production when necessary, which is most of the time. I’m considering converting a size 60 Ha-34 factory to the Ha-35. My current production is 450 or 15 a day. I need 19 to keep everything producing. The additional factory will bring my production to 17 a day. That’ll work for now. My losses are low enough that I can keep some of my operational factories off from time to time. I will need more engines later though.

Ha-33 needs are in flux and will change quite a bit over the next few months. I made a spreadsheet to figure out my needs for this engine. Here are the changes:

Ki-100-II: Current needs are 6/day R&D. It becomes operational in July & needs decrease to 4/day.
Nell: Needs are 2/day. ~100 each M2 & M3 models in the pool so production is off and will be for a while.
Mavis TR: Needs are 0.5/day but on rarely.
Dinah III: Needs are 1.3/day but not on all the time.

My Ha-33 production is 9/day with 585 in the pool and pretty steady. I’m not going to increase production for now. Once my Nell pools drop to <100 combined, then I’ll probably increase engine production by 60 factories.

[Lokasenna]

Your latest post reminds me that I'm going to have to go back and rebalance my engines with my aircraft factories.

Are you sure you only lost 2 devices at Adak - I've seen them get replaced after combat, not that there's much difference in game terms. Interesting turn in China, but be wary of forts at Chungking.

[Mike Solli]

29 Apr 43

Sub War

The I-166 was hanging out east of Adak (along with a couple other subs) looking for prey and found an AM that had been punched full of holes by DP guns and sank her with a torpedo.

One of the other subs in the area, the I-38, was hanging out 2 hexes west of Unmak Island and found the BB bombardment TF and put 3 torpedoes into the Mississippi! Banzai! In return she took 2 DC hits. Her damage is 28-44(21)-0-0. She'll limp back to Etorofu for repairs. There was no report of the Mississippi sinking.

5 Fleet

The only enemy combat today was from the air. Sixteen 2E bombers and 6x 4E bombers came in. Two were shot down and flak got another. They went after the Japanese troops and disabled a couple of squads for their efforts.

I bombarded the Allies. I probably won't mention this much, but I'll do it daily.

Damage:

Adak: 48-57-76

4 Fleet

Nothing to report.

SE Fleet

A partial squadron of P-40Ks swept Gasmata and lost 2 of their number for their efforts.

SRA

Helens from Hollandia performed a night port attack mission against Merauke hitting an xAKL and an AMc. Afterward, I heard sinking sounds, but don't know which ship sank.

Burma

The Japanese 4 Parachute Regiment was air dropped at Ramree and shock attacked the 77 Chindit Brigade. It was too much for the Chindits and they surrendered. Losses were 7(0) Japanese to 1276(285) Allies. Banzai! The paratroopers will remain as a garrison until the 4 Independent Mixed Brigade arrives to garrison the base.

China

Nothing to report.

Other Stuff

Reinforcements:

2 Independent Field Artillery Regiment - 13 Army - China
70 Infantry Brigade - 13 Army - part of 64 Division - China
72 Infantry Brigade - 13 Army - part of 65 Division - China
63 Infantry Brigade - 1 Army - part of 62 Division - China
38 Independent Engineer Regiment - 6 Army - China
39 Independent Engineer Regiment - 13 Army - China
64 JNAF AF Unit - Southern Army

[Mike Solli]

ORIGINAL: Lokasenna

Your latest post reminds me that I'm going to have to go back and rebalance my engines with my aircraft factories.

Are you sure you only lost 2 devices at Adak - I've seen them get replaced after combat, not that there's much difference in game terms. Interesting turn in China, but be wary of forts at Chungking.

Lokasenna, I'm not really sure how much I lost but I suspect it's unlikely that I got 6 guns in one turn. It is possible though. Either way, I'm ok with it.

Chungking may have high fort levels, but as of 2 May, I see 1 unit there. Who knows really. I'll give it a shot. My army attacking toward Chunking has 4 divisions, 2 brigades, 1 tank division and an artillery unit, plus an army HQ and the CEA HQ for support. We'll see if it is enough.

[Zorch]

Mike, from the big picture viewpoint, what do you think Ted will do once he gets all his carriers repaired and Hellcat'ed?

[PaxMondo]

ORIGINAL: Mike Solli

Chungking may have high fort levels, but as of 2 May, I see 1 unit there. Who knows really. I'll give it a shot. My army attacking toward Chunking has 4 divisions, 2 brigades, 1 tank division and an artillery unit, plus an army HQ and the CEA HQ for support. We'll see if it is enough.

Bring enough Sally/Helen and you should be fine. I use a minimum of 500 LB ... 12 groups or more. Yeah, its a lot, but against lvl 6 forts you need a lot. Even if you don't see many disablements, remember it lowers morale and that counts a lot.

Forts I think start the game at 6 ... scen dependent. All you want to do is to bring them down each attack without too many losses ... disrupted/disabled you'll have lots and that's fine.

[mind_messing]

ORIGINAL: Mike Solli

ORIGINAL: Lokasenna

Your latest post reminds me that I'm going to have to go back and rebalance my engines with my aircraft factories.

Are you sure you only lost 2 devices at Adak - I've seen them get replaced after combat, not that there's much difference in game terms. Interesting turn in China, but be wary of forts at Chungking.

Lokasenna, I'm not really sure how much I lost but I suspect it's unlikely that I got 6 guns in one turn. It is possible though. Either way, I'm ok with it.

Chungking may have high fort levels, but as of 2 May, I see 1 unit there. Who knows really. I'll give it a shot. My army attacking toward Chunking has 4 divisions, 2 brigades, 1 tank division and an artillery unit, plus an army HQ and the CEA HQ for support. We'll see if it is enough.

If there's only 1 unit there, do your utmost to take Chungking on the cheap.

Sure, clearing out China first allows you to "farm" Chinese respawning rules for VP's, but knocking off Chinese reinforcements for the rest of the game is too good a chance to pass up.

Take Chungking, then worry about the 131 units. I'd suggest surrounding them, but I have seen others suggest leaving troops a retreat path works better - it might be easier to win a string of battles over several hexes than one long siege with a series of battles.