Things Just Got Real

[ggeilman]

It is Jan 7, 1942 and everything just got real. The AI has invaded Rabaul and Madang. The KB is next to Midway and has sunk all shipping in the area. I have identified 3-6 carriers. Keeping my carriers within 2 hexes of Pearl under the cap. Down around 59 points in ships there already including a 20 pt tanker and a transport. Was trying to fortify Midway. Hopefully what I got there will hold. Shoving all I can into Port Moresby, Noumea and Suva.
Jap subs are driving me crazy off of Eastern Australia. Now have a few 8 pt destroyers there.
Starting of feel comfortable with the amount of fighters I have in Australia now. I think I am closing in on 76. More at Noumea and Port Moresby. Have to decide when to pull them from Singapore. Lost 2 aces at Wake waiting too long. Up to 11 in total with the 2 deceased. The Brits and Aussies are more than holding their own with at least 5 of them including the top 2.

[btd64]

This sounds like an AAR....GP

[ggeilman]

I guess there is a lot of AAR in here so I won't complain. Just not sure what to so about it, lol! Pardon for the forum miscue.

[btd64]

No worries....GP

[ggeilman]

Now, any advice?

[huda0816]

ORIGINAL: ggeilman

Now, any advice?

Sorry no advice as I am a noob as well. But I know that desperate feeling when the Japanese AI is steamrolling the pacific and there is nothing one can do.

In the beginning of 1942 I was confident that I can hold Singers but this dream died in April together with 80.000 Troops. Now it is August and I have to retreat from Burma if I want to keep my Divisions alive.

So enjoy the ride as long as it lasts as the AI will start doing stupid things sooner or later.

[Ian R]

There will come a time when you will have so many 75 plane USAAF, and 72 Plane Commonwealth fighter squadrons that you won't be able to actually fit them all on a base within range of the action. You'll be swapping them out in and out to absorb replacements and train at rear bases (and they don't stop improving at 70 skill, they keep going up although more slowly). 100 % train at 10,000 feet and zero range.

Sounds like you are building up your deep defences to protect your various LOCs, which is good, you get lots of stuff to fight at the front with down the track. Midway isn't worth fighting for - you can bomb it flat with B24s from Lihue (or B17s from Pearl) for live training. It is basically indefensible for the Japanese.

Canton Island is however worth fighting for. You can't put enough stuff there to just fort up on the ground, what you want is to remove the starting base forces to make space, put some fighters, SBDs and search planes there, send some auxiliaries for seaplane support and to support a fleet of PT boats, and fly in some aviation support squads from one of the subsidiary air HQs (leave a splinter back at Pearl) while you use a separate infantry regiment to defend. You can live with a bit of ground force overstacking if you put enough supply there, so add in some coastal defence artillery and some AAA as well. A tank battalion takes up too much space, and escalates the supply costs penalties through the roof, but is doable. It takes a long time to build the airstrip fom level 2 to level 3 due to the 0 potential, so best left to later. It is worth building the port to a 3 and then withdrawing the engineers for the time being.

That air HQ is very important. It's presence will provide a 5 level command bonus to the function of the air base, as long as the base itself, and the HQ are in the same command chain. IIRC if you use USN forward air pacific HQ, it has the same command chain. So your level 2 base becomes a level 7 base for admin purposes, meaning you can put more SBDs and fighters there, with 20k supply on hand it provides replacements, etc.

[ggeilman]

Thanks for the input:) No, I was not planning on making a fight for Midway. My carriers are not worth risking at this point in the war. I was not aware of the importance of Canton Island. Shipping the 147th and 148th FA from Noumea and some support ships to start. One of those base forces has 25 Air Support so I am not in a hurry to replace it. Will look for further follow on forces. Might redirect some earmarked for Suva.