It's the AE and BB Op's points that count- not the ports. Suggest saving your turn and then trying the following one at a time
Refuel at sea with the AE disbanded in port
Disband the TF and then refuel/rearm ships in port (from the port screen)
Have the AE in a support TF and try refuel at sea
From memory the first option works the best- but if I'm not sure I always save the turn first before trying (and always save the turn before ending orders- so I can check if I really did forget to set some troops to attack
EDIT: Don't move the AE- it'll work quite fine where it is- even in a dot base
Fun House: Roxas falls to 11th E. African Div. The enemy garrison, 2nd Amph. Bde., showed an AV of 0 and simply evaporated. The destruction was the result of just modest bombing, mostly by 2EB. Lack of supply might have contributed.
Luzon Campaign: Like Panay, Luzon is mostly open ground. If what happened to 2nd Amph. Bde. is a reliable indicator, John's going to have a hard time in the coming campaign. Manila will be a tough nut to crack, of course, but all the bases in open terrain should be difficult to defend. He's moving troops forward, down the peninsula. I'm going to let them come. The further forward, the more they'll get battered.
In order to have a chance, John's going to have to do something very different than he's been doing - bring in his air force or commit his navy or something. Else, Luzon may be Allied in three months.
Burma: The Allied army advancing east from Moulmein is fully supplied and looking good. John may defend at Raeheng or a hex to the west. I want to prevail, but more than anything I want to occupy his attention.
Attachments
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"Rats set fire to Mr. Cooper’s store in Fort Valley. No damage done." Columbus (Ga) Enquirer-Sun, October 2, 1880.
A logistics note: Oz has 362k fuel. Over the past three months, that amount has steadily increased even as merchantmen load fuel and move into the DEI. Pearl Harbor and a few key islands are also flush with fuel. The Allied logistical network is operating smoothly. The biggest challenge is pushing the fuel forward to the Philippines. There are two possible major routes: through the DEI and via CenPac. The latter is shortest but will always be vulnerable to enemy raids, necessitating strong escorts (I can foresee using Death Star at least once to allow a big inbound convoy to come in). The former route is mostly secure now, but the shoulders are not quite wide enough. Taking Port Moresby, Darwin, Lautem, Koepang, Kendari, Ternate, and Manado will be necessary. Major units have long since prepped for each of these, but each will be a major operation requiring carriers, etc. So no moves are imminent, but I can pull the triggers when the right circumstances exist.
"Rats set fire to Mr. Cooper’s store in Fort Valley. No damage done." Columbus (Ga) Enquirer-Sun, October 2, 1880.
On a political points note: CA Sussex reached Sydney today and withdrew. xAP Mount Vernon will arrive tomorrow. That will end the PP expenditures for tardy withdrawal at an acceptable level. Two other xAPs due to withdraw in two weeks will arrive at Sydney in two or three days. Those are the last big ships required to withdraw. All that will be left are subs.
"Rats set fire to Mr. Cooper’s store in Fort Valley. No damage done." Columbus (Ga) Enquirer-Sun, October 2, 1880.
Fun House: Resistance at Puerta Princesa disappears.
Tomorrow will be a big day if weather allows Allied bombers to fly from Naga and Legaspi. All Liberators and Mitchells ordered to hit enemy ground troops at next three bases up the peninsula, from Atimonan to Batangas.
Initial landing on Mindanao scheduled tomorrow. Just as small detachment of Australians to take a vacant base on the NW coast. If successful (it should be), I can then send in troops without the necessity of disruptive amphibious assaults. I don't plan to move on Mindanao bases in strength for awhile, depending primarily on how things go on Luzon.
Burma: The big question is whether John tries to stand at Raeheng, the first base east of Moulmein. Early indications suggest he won't.
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"Rats set fire to Mr. Cooper’s store in Fort Valley. No damage done." Columbus (Ga) Enquirer-Sun, October 2, 1880.
Fiddling around with things, I just confirmed that BB North Carolina can replenish at Legaspi. From this point forward, replenishment of BBs will take careful planning, as Ops points seem to be tough to find at this busy port.
At this point I don't plan to use bombardment TFs in the Luzon campaign unless it becomes clear that air power isn't enough to do the job. I'm nearly positive it will be, though.
A key consideration in this campaign is keeping my army as fresh as possible. At just 2000 AV it isn't a gigantic force. I don't want divisions chewed up with lots of disablements due to tough combat. So air power is key, with naval power held in reserve.
"Rats set fire to Mr. Cooper’s store in Fort Valley. No damage done." Columbus (Ga) Enquirer-Sun, October 2, 1880.
Only a fraction of the bombers flew missions today. None of the divebombers (all targeting Atimonan) and none of the 4EB and 2EB targeting Lucena flew. None of the Superforts were scheduled to fly. A decent number of 4EB and 2EB flew against Batangas, finding this in the hex:
Also attacking 19th/B Division ...
Also attacking 15th Division ...
Damage was noteworthy but not devastating: 9 squads destroyed and 83 disabled. I would imagine disruption is high. I will be interested in seeing how John reacts. Will he keep his ground troops moving forward or will he flinch and begin to withdraw them. If he realizes this is not a good recipe for him, how does he react? If he can't stand against Allied bombers, what does he do?
Complete Batangas results:
(1) Morning Air attack on 15th Division, at 79,78 (Batangas)
Weather in hex: Moderate rain
Raid spotted at 19 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 5 minutes
Allied aircraft
B-24D1 Liberator x 9
B-24J Liberator x 45
B-25C Mitchell x 15
B-25D1 Mitchell x 38
B-25G Mitchell x 12
B-25H Mitchell x 3
PBJ-1D Mitchell x 14
Allied aircraft losses
B-24J Liberator: 2 damaged
Japanese ground losses:
806 casualties reported
Squads: 8 destroyed, 51 disabled
Non Combat: 14 destroyed, 49 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Vehicles lost 8 (2 destroyed, 6 disabled)
(2) Morning Air attack on 15th Division, at 79,78 (Batangas)
Weather in hex: Moderate rain
Raid spotted at 20 NM, estimated altitude 14,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 6 minutes
Allied aircraft
Liberator GR.VI x 4
B-24J Liberator x 11
PB4Y-1 Liberator x 23
I don't think John has any AA to speak of on Luzon. I could be wrong, but most of what I'm seeing is at his oil centers and in Burma. The latter was undoubtedly a reaction to the heavy bombing campaign that began on 1/2/44. I bet he also has AA at his key southern Home Island bases.
"Rats set fire to Mr. Cooper’s store in Fort Valley. No damage done." Columbus (Ga) Enquirer-Sun, October 2, 1880.
Fun House: As detailed above, a fairly effective strike on enemy infantry at Batangas today. All those aircraft flew from Naga. Weather apparently shut down Legaspi, which has three times as many aircraft. Let's see what happens tomorrow.
Burma: The Allies are closing on Raeheng, the next base in the line of fire.
John III: How much longer does he hold back while the Allied juggernaut gains momentum? I have no reason for saying this, but I think not too much longer. I don't see how he can interpret the situation in the PI as other than: "The end is nigh unless I do something."
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"Rats set fire to Mr. Cooper’s store in Fort Valley. No damage done." Columbus (Ga) Enquirer-Sun, October 2, 1880.
Fun House: Bombing campaign isn't hitting on all cylinders yet, due to weather. Allied attack at Atimonan comes off at 3:1. The enemy should retire tomorrow. Aussie fast transport invasion of Mindanao finds the target base undefended, as expected.
Burma: John is reinforcing the hex west of Raeheng rather than withdrawing. He brought in a fresh mixed brigade sufficient to stand against a few hundred armored AV. The infantry will be up in about three days.
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"Rats set fire to Mr. Cooper’s store in Fort Valley. No damage done." Columbus (Ga) Enquirer-Sun, October 2, 1880.
The bombers were more effective today, judging by John's email: "My next opponent will be dealing with different 4EB rules. What they can do to ANY form of LCU is beyond imagination. You hit two targets with Sz-4 Forts and it made no difference."
"Rats set fire to Mr. Cooper’s store in Fort Valley. No damage done." Columbus (Ga) Enquirer-Sun, October 2, 1880.
The bombers were more effective today, judging by John's email: "My next opponent will be dealing with different 4EB rules. What they can do to ANY form of LCU is beyond imagination. You hit two targets with Sz-4 Forts and it made no difference."
John just shocks me sometimes. No AA at all and no interceptors, and he expects your bombers to miss. I shudder to think what pace your ground bombing is going to achieve, the very low wear and tear on your bombers, and the extremely high experience level your pilots achieve.
Quick, lets make a HR because CR can use his bombers effectively, and I can't be bothered to try out one of the many in game counters. I bet his troops were in clear terrain. Sheesh. Ok, in truth he is talking about his next game.
Fun House Luzon: Atimonan Falls and Allied bombers really mess up two enemy divisions at Batangas. John has 75k army and movement dots suggest it's still coming forward. He's going to lose an army here if he doesn't figure out a way to stop my bombers. As Lowpe notes, he needs fighters and AA. The fighters are beat up in the air battle over Manila. He can bring in lots more but at the expense of stripping other theaters, I think. As for AA, I think he shifted them to meet other emergencies, especially Burma, so that they are now out of position (just a guess on my part).
We went through this exact scenario in Burma early in the year: big Allied airfields in close proximity to enemy ground units in clear terrain lacking fighter support and AA. But John didn't connect the dots. He moved strongly into Celebes but failed totally to attend to the security of the Philippines. Celebes was an effective vortex that was symptomatic of the larger problem.
So what does he do now? He's going to lose an army in Luzon if he doesn't figure it out. And judging by his email, he's pissed and going to get more pissed. It's in this kind of pressure cooker environment that he just might commit Kaigun or KB...or stubbornly decline to do so.
Fun House Central & Southern PI: Africans take Iloilo and Aussies take Ocoquieto (Mindanao). John only has two bases left between Mindanao and Luzon, and both will fall soon. He's moving to counter the Allied lodgement on Mindanao, but his moves mean nothing if he can't get supply here and if Allied bombers have free reign.
Fun House Borneo: BBs appear inbound to bombard Aussie RCT at Beaufort. I don't think this will be enough for him to take the base, but I am leaning towards sortying Death Star and empty transports. The idea is to pick up 6th Aus. Div. at Puerto Princesa to invade Miri, which is still lightly defended. That would shut off the spigot there and put my bombers in better position to begin covering Balikpapan and Palembang.
Burma: The infantry is coming up to help with the Raeheng campaign.
Elsewhere: Many, many Allied assets on the move. Things will get very busy in about a week. In the meantime, John is showing an unusually high level of interest in the Torres Strait and Coral Sea. There is a chance that he'll move there, seeking to do something without risking decisive battle in the Philippines.
Attachments
060144FunHouse.jpg (672.71 KiB) Viewed 133 times
"Rats set fire to Mr. Cooper’s store in Fort Valley. No damage done." Columbus (Ga) Enquirer-Sun, October 2, 1880.
Yup, he should be running his combat forces to Manila to dig in the city. And at the same time garrisoning bases to the north and trying to put several air bases there to operational status (Clark, Iba, etc.) to base his fighters to interdict your Manila runs (and spread your bombing effort). And to base some bombers to snipe around your edges...
