At dawn we slept...in the cab on the way back from Olongapo

[Chickenboy]

ORIGINAL: Cap Mandrake

Might have to just smash the AF at Bet'Lehem and push a reinforcement convoy all the way to Luzon .

What's your pending CVE arrival status like? Don't you start getting approximately a bajillion of those buggers in early 1943?

[Chickenboy]

ORIGINAL: Cap Mandrake

Guam.....10 units, 9K Sons of Nippon

Rota? Pagan? Tinian? Saipan? If any of these is underdefended, it should be captured. The Japanese loss of Saipan in particular was catastrophic to their position in CENTPAC. Pagan can be taken as a springboard to the other Marianas south of it. A Wake-Pagan-Marcus triangle pointed to Iwo Jima and Luzon would be devastating to JJ's strategic position in SOPAC.

Let MacArthur do his thing and bang around on PNG with the diggers and some 2EBs. No reason why Nimitz/Spruance/Halsey has to operate in the same waters.

SPOILER ALERT: The Japanese will probably object to your efforts to capture the Marianas.

[Cap Mandrake]

In about 80 days we could have 520+ carrier A/C assembled (counting the CVE's).

I think all the USN CV squadrons could be converted to F6F by then. Maybe some P-38's flying LRCAP from Mindanao. You would have to creep along at about 17 kts (fastest transports).

The IJN would clearly attack with everything they had. It would be the carrier battles of all carrier battles.

[Cap Mandrake]

The staff does not have any troops prepped for the Marianas.[:D] We have no good intel. There are Vals at Pagan

[Cap Mandrake]

Do not-ah rook here. Nothing to see.

[Cap Mandrake]

JJ some Koreans to build up airfields in the Marianas

[Chickenboy]

ORIGINAL: Cap Mandrake

JJ some Koreans to build up airfields in the Marianas

Just finished, for the second or third time, the very good "Fire in the Sky" by Bergerud. He convincingly concludes that the fighting in SoPAC-particularly fighting related to Bougainville, Buna and Guadalcanal gutted not only the IJN and IJNAF but the IJA land units that participated in the campaign. Some 400,000 Japanese troops that could have been better used defending the Marianas or Philippines in 1944 that were squandered in SOPAC fighting.

As a result of not having these large reinforcements, the Marianas and the Philippines 'fell' easier than they could have, had the Japanese used a rational system of troop withdrawals and strategic repositioning rather than continually feeding men and material into the SOPAC maw.

So @Cap-what's going on in the Marianas (and Marcus too)? If you could gain a foothold on Guam, Tinian and Pagan, with what could you do it and when? Where are your MARDIVs?

Slipping behind SOPAC lines like this would positively gut his positions to the South and provide you with an easy jaunt to Luzon to the West.

[BBfanboy]

ORIGINAL: Cap Mandrake

Bealzebob..... 16 units, 27K LYB's with 86 guns and 196 Ronsons

Guam.....10 units, 9K Sons of Nippon

Truk Ragoon....7 units, 25K troops, 274 guns

Woleai.......3 units 4000K

Don't know about Peleliu or Yap yet

Peleliu and Woleai are atolls so you need a well organized attack with APA's, AKA's, LCT's, shore bombardment, shore engineers amphibious tans.....etc

I took Woleai and Satawal (ranges 13 and 8 respectively) in my current game to help suppress Truk. Bad idea. I loaded them up with engineers but trying to construct a decent port and AF in SPS (0), (0) conditions takes a looooooong time. I need level 3 AF to be of any use. Yap has some potential. Peleliu is rather isolated from the Marianas.
Avoiding Saipan Naval Fortress, I took Guam, Rota and then Tinian and Pagan and bombed the heck out of Saipan. Then I started my BB bombardments at long range (30K to 20K yards) and battered Saipan some more. Once the fortress fire became sporadic, I let the BBs get down to 15K and added CA bombardments.

Took a couple of months of pounding and a lot of supply for my AEs/AKEs, but the Amphib assault with simultaneous Para landings took it on the first try. Of course, the AI did not develop the forts nor provide a great garrison that early in the game so YMMV. [:D]

Still working over Truk, which seems to have lots of supply. Bombers operate from Guam, Rota, Tinian, Kavieng, Ponape, Mussau Island and I am building on Manus. Weather dictates which AFs attack each turn. Satawal and Woleai have AVs so they contribute PBY recon of Truk. Truk could probably be attacked successfully now but I bought out four Aussie Armoured units that need to prep for the job so I am in no hurry.

PS - IJ aircraft are not an issue - all the relevant airfields have been taken or smashed and the Netties were shot down in droves early on. The AI does not recognize CAP traps. [:)]

[Cap Mandrake]

3rd Marine Div is in Mindanao and New Guinea and even the airfield at Tawao, Borneo. The two regiments at Sorong are holding Sorong....which will be useful at some point..I promise. 30 guys are AWOL in Cape Town....long story

[Cap Mandrake]

The two regiments at Sorong could be rehabbed quickly with adequate supply which I can soon push up from Hollandia

[Cap Mandrake]

2nd Marine Div is at Rabaul and ould be rested and refitted with '43 gear and prepped for the Marinaras in 40 days. They are a good candidate

[Cap Mandrake]

1st Marine Div has one regiment at Koepang, one engaged in New Guinea and one (5th Rgt) resting after capturing Kavieng.

5th Regt could be ready in about 30 days.

[Cap Mandrake]

22nd Marine Regt is at Kavieng and could be ready in 31 days.

4th Marine Regt s still at Bataan, of course.

[Cap Mandrake]

Remainder of 4th Marine Div is still in high school [:)]

So, realistically, that is one entire Div and 2 regiments ready in about 40 days.

There are numerous US Army independent regiments and some Australian and Canadian Brigades that could be ready in 25 days if I have enough political points.

[Cap Mandrake]

2/3rd's of US Army 37th ID could be ready with '43 it in about 30-40 d

2/3rd's of Americal Div. is engaged in the Sundas and Mindano already but one regiment could be ready for the Marinaras in 30-40 days

[Cap Mandrake]

All of that plus support troops is probably more than we have lift capacity for.

[Cap Mandrake]

Perhaps 1 2/3rd USMC Divisions for Guam and then two US/Aus Regt/Brig each for Rota, Tinian, Pagan

[Chickenboy]

It probably wouldn't hurt to re-assemble those fragmented groups into a cohesive MARDIV or two, Cap. Some AFB here can tell you more about a MARDIV TOE versus individual regiments' TOE, but they are generally perceived to be more resistant to disruption in amphibious landings than individual regiments.

[RangerJoe]

I do believe that you also get more devices with more firepower.

[Chickenboy]

ORIGINAL: Cap Mandrake

Perhaps 1 2/3rd USMC Divisions for Guam and then two US/Aus Regt/Brig each for Rota, Tinian, Pagan

Better to go big at Guam and hold it than to be parsimonious with your other forces for Rota/Tinian/Pagan and fail across the board.

Hit Guam first. Get ashore and entrenched. Then you can better recon Tinian, Rota and Pagan. You'll want Tinian eventually (and plenty of SeaBees), but Rota and Pagan can help develop a nest of mutually supporting airfields to start to choke the life out of Saipan. You don't need all of them, so go with where the least resistance lies. But all in for Guam.

You will have the staff order up preparation for Guam on the earmarked units, won't you?