The Good The Bad & The Indifferent

[Lokasenna]

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

ORIGINAL: Lokasenna


Unless you set the home port to somewhere east of Foochow, presumably your homeport is Manila... your ships may run right into Pescadores if they get contacted just twice in particular hexes. There's no guarantee that the DE/DD TFs will stop that from happening, but it does help. Just not a risk I would take given the game date.

As a fictional sports broadcaster once said: "That's a bold move, Cotton."

You know more about these things than I do. In making my assessments of what's possible and what's likely, I may be too ignorant of the nature and extent of the various threats. I don't have a lot of experience in these waters or with the late date of the game.

That said, I feel pretty confident that Task Force Hercules (I just made that up) will make it in decent shape. I'm worried mainly about kamikazes, but I think my efforts to deal with the threat of mines and combat ships are sufficient.

And they might be! I'm more of a "lean a shoulder forward" kind of planner, or in listening to the podcast I linked in the main forum, pretty much like Ludendorff in 1918 - "punch a hole and see what happens." I'm just saying that, were I landing here with my typical orders and settings (particularly for air groups and air TFs), I would be concerned about unintentional movement through minefields - particularly at Pescadores with its fortress also present (although details on it are not in my brain at the moment). A very particular set of things would have to happen in order, but I don't think they'd be that uncommon. Namely:

1) Some kind of surface TF contacts either your CVEs or CVs, which will cause them to retreat towards home port regardless of any settings you may have for follow, remain on station, direct/absolute, etc.

2) This would need to send them past Pescadores, and when 1 hex away from Pescadores, a few things would need to happen in tandem:

3a) Another surface TF contacts them, and
3b) Cause them to retreat into the Pescadores hex

Admittedly, 3b is the hardest condition there to meet...but it could happen.

[Canoerebel]

7/25/44

Synergies: Here for the first time are the synergies between Allied strategy in Indochina, China, and Peep Show. Things still have to come together to make this work, but we're moving in the right directions.

[Lokasenna]

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

ORIGINAL: paullus99
Are you planning to launch a Chinese-led offensive to tie down his forces?

The Chinese are crowding the front lines from the Changsha sector to the Vietnam border. John's troops have heavy forts, so I have zero expectations of achieving a breakthrough. Less than zero, really.

But I'm pressing forward to make him think twice about weakening that line.

And there's all those Allied troops in Thailand beginning to push east and northeast from the Bangkok sector. (Do you think there was any coincidence in how the Burma campaign was designed to eventually compliment Peep Show?)

Ah, they're saying such pretty words about the Peep Show! Praise, chock full of flowery language!


Sorry, but since you're an editor for at least part of your living, I just can't resist [:'(].

[Canoerebel]

Oops. "Complement."

I'm a decent editor (really, I am), but I have to edit my own writing scores of time before it sees print. Seriously, most of my stories - things as short as 1,000 or 2,000 words - go through anywhere from 75 to 150 revisions.

[Canoerebel]

7/25/44

Fun House & Peep Show: See map for details.

[Canoerebel]

7/25/44

DEI: Enemy carriers are all over the DEI.

[JohnDillworth]

Is Rangoon still blocked from flooding with supply ships. If you can dump tons of supply at Rangoon and set some HQ's along the path you can flood China with supply. Considering your current narrow supply path it may be worth considerable investment to get supply flowing

[Canoerebel]

Rangoon is mostly open to supply. There's still the threat of LBA from Port Blair. That's manageable by using LRCAP by incoming supply TFs. There's the larger threat of enemy raiding DD TFs. I'm moving in a modest CL/DD TF to deal with that.

Supply is coming in, but it won't be in floods. It'll be 10k one day, 15k two days later. That'll help but it won't be decisive.

[JeffroK]

A thought,

Would JIII be flying troops into the Chinese coast cities??
Maybe a small investment in LRCAP over them could interdict any attempts?

well, 2 thoughts.
Does the Chinese unit adjaecent to Foocjow have any teeth?
Could it move into town and help the landing force>

[Canoerebel]

John tries aerial reinforcements nearly every time he gets caught looking the other way. It'll be too little to impact the invasion of Foochow at this late date. But if it the RCT proves tough behind forts, I will employ LRCAP (and bombardments and 4EB).

The Chinese unit is an HQ type, providing intel and serving as a tripwire on that road leading into Foochow.

[Lowpe]

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

John tries aerial reinforcements nearly every time he gets caught looking the other way. It'll be too little to impact the invasion of Foochow at this late date. But if it the RCT proves tough behind forts, I will employ LRCAP (and bombardments and 4EB).

The Chinese unit is an HQ type, providing intel and serving as a tripwire on that road leading into Foochow.

I think that is probably true for every JFB, Allied SigInt is just so darned remarkably good at pointing out every shortfall in defense, Japanese transports concentrated can fly close to 250 AV a day in or out at this point of the game.

Anyhow, I am really looking forward to your next steps.

I am curious to see what Japan does with their carriers now...caught on the wrong side.

You will have to watch carefully how supply wants to travel from your captured Chinese beach head to the interior I think.

Lok is quite correct that Pescadores has some pretty nifty coastal guns, and anything traversing near could be diverted into them...I know I would be pulling out all the stops to get units to blunder under the guns. Of course the guns themselves are very vulnerable if there aren't other units there too.

Do you have intel on the big CD units that Japan has: Wake Coastal Gun, 3rd Special Coast, Combined 8th SNLF?

Come 1945 Japan's military starts to really grow in China, Manchuko, Japan proper. If you are looking at potential early activation of the Soviets for example, you will want to get there very early in 1945 at the latest. Bases like Hankow and Shanghai see generous division sized units spawn there. In late 44 division sized units spawn in Formosa. A lot of the islands get cd guns sometime in 44...so an Island could literally be empty one day and the next have a very nasty garrison. To me, this is a reason to have +-15 day reinforcement option.

Now -- you are in that enviable Allied position of being early, ahead on the Japanese curve of reinforcements, so have fun! I know I will.[:)]

[Jellicoe]

Does John have any idea that the Lexington is tucked away in Boela? A damaged carrier in a port with a large KB on hand will be almost irresistible!

[Canoerebel]

John hasn't used reconnaissance on Boela in forever, as best I can recall. He's showed no real interest in the base. So I've been thinking all along that Lexington was sorta anonymous there.

But perhaps John does know. He's had those subs strung out all around Boela, including at dot hexes. Perhaps he expected SoPac KB to flush ships towards his subs. But that may just be a strategy aimed at Allied ships in general rather than Lexington in particular.

If KB comes back to hit Boela, then it'll be obvious that he does know.

[Reg]

Distraction bait......

[BBfanboy]

ORIGINAL: Reg


Distraction bait......

CAP Trap! [:)]

[Canoerebel]

With John away for the weekend, I stood down for a few days.

I spent Saturday hiking solo in the Cohutta Wilderness Area. I did a tough 14-mile loop that included a climb of about 1900 feet over a couple of miles. Tough going.

Surprisingly, I had the Wilderness Area to myself. Nobody was out on a lovely spring Saturday. I carried a book and my lunch, stopping to read on the ledge wear Panther Creek Falls tumbled off the side of Cowpen Mountain.

The hike went smoothly, but I was a sore puppy when I got home last night. The only way to stay in shape for steep 14-mile hikes is to regularly do steep 14-mile hikes. Who has time with business, family, church, and other matters?

I also gave some thought to the game, and finally decided how Peep Show will approach China. I'll briefly discuss that after the photos.

[Canoerebel]

This is East Cowpen Trail, near it's junction with Hickory Ridge Trail.

Last November, a 29,000-acre wildfire - dubbed the Rough Ridge Fire - swept through the Cohutta Wilderness Area. In some places, like this one, the scars of the fire are disappearing already.

[Canoerebel]

In late December, when I last hiked this stretch of trail - Panther Creek Trail near its upper end - the forest floor was charred and blackened. Inches of slick, wet, gooey ash covered the mountainside. Today, lush ferns have reclaimed the forest floor, which is healing nicely.

[Canoerebel]

The Rough Ridge Fire did only minor or moderate damage to 95% of the Cohutta Wilderness Area. Most areas will recover quickly.

Here and there, patches of woods are blackened and the forest floor denuded. This is one such area - a long, narrow side ridge that descends from the west side of Buckeye Mountain. It will be a long time until this area looks lush.

[Canoerebel]

As for the game, I ultimately decided that Peep Show will use the "west route" to approach coastal China. I'm concerned about the risks you gentlemen pointed out - swarms of MTBs causing my TFs to scatter into minefields or within range of the guns of Pescadores.

In fact, I initially entered orders for the TFs to take a course around Formosa's eastern coast. Ultimately, I decided to take the shorter, quicker route that gets the ships to the beachheads a day sooner. I'm sending out advance DD and DMS TFs to sniff out opposition. And if things turn sour, my TFs may still be in a better position to retire.

But I have a feeling that the Allied armada is up to forcing this passage. Let's see if I'm right.