A Good Place to Start - Matthew (A) v Fokko (J) - Bottlenecks Mod

[M Peaston]

China 18th January 1942.png (1.34 MiB) Viewed 1428 times

[M Peaston]

I didn't originally plan to try and hold Port Moresby, but I'm increasingly tempted. I would need to find some decent reinforcements pretty soon though.

Solomons 18th January 1942.png (2.31 MiB) Viewed 1426 times

[BBfanboy]

You should immediately use Catalinas and Empires to remove the Lark Bn and the other unit on Kavieng to Port Moresby. They are components of the Port Moresby Brigade - a decent unit when it gets reunited with the missing "Bird Bns" and Coys.

[RangerJoe]

You should immediately use Catalinas and Empires to remove the Lark Bn and the other unit on Kavieng to Port Moresby. They are components of the Port Moresby Brigade - a decent unit when it gets reunited with the missing "Bird Bns" and Coys.

The Lark battalion forms a brigade with the two Aussie battalions in Darwin and they form a division with the two Aussie Brigades in Malasia.

Those separate companies in New Guinea form a battalion which becomes part of the Port Moresby Brigade.

Move at least a fragment of the Rabaul Base Force so it can easily be rebuilt without having to buy it back and wait.

Also, move engineers to Milne Bay to build a port, then defenses and an airfield.

[JanSako]

In this mod the 8th Aussie division forms just from the 2 brigades in Malaya. It is only 2/3rds as strong as the 'full' ones.
The 3rd brigade can be recombined from the little guys, but IMO you are a bit late. Although maybe not if Rabaul was not yet lost. Kido could be signaling he is ready to push South.
Japan can bring 2 full divisions 'easy enough' so you should aim for ~600 AV in PM to be safe. Call it 4 Aussie brigades & assorted support units/arty.
If you cannot commit that much, they will only be a speedbump. Make sure to put in an AA regiment in to stop the Japanese from shutting down your airfield, and a CD unit to discourage bombardments. 36x40mm Bofors will make sure you will only see low-flying planes once. It may be worth pulling the USN CD unit from Pago Pago, or one meant for Fiji. Use the Anti-sub nets to mine the heck out of PM if you still can.

If PM is secure, I would let him take Milne Bay, good luck supplying it with DB's & fighters in Port Moresby & heavies in Cairns... and the occasional CL/CA bombardment run that he cannot stop.

[M Peaston]

Thanks for your input as always guys.

My thoughts are that if I’m going to send major reinforcements to Port Moresby then they need to be strong enough to give me a reasonable chance of holding out. I was planning to use 6th Division as a reserve in Australia when it arrives (it’s just leaving Aden), but I could send it to PM instead, and use the Americal Division (starting to arrive in the USA now) as a reserve.

However, my first priority in this area is protecting communications between USA and Australia - so Fiji, New Caledonia, Pago Pago etc are getting first call on reinforcements. I’d like to keep Port Moresby, but I can live without it.

It depends really on how hard and fast the Japanese are going to push in this area. If I get the time and opportunity to put together a decent division plus the necessary supporting elements, and a naval force to ensure safe passage, then reinforcing Port Moresby is an option.

So far Fokko has been keeping his cards pretty close to his chest, but he needs to play them sometime soon.

[JanSako]

To hold in that terrain you don't need an 'integrated' division. I had 2 brigades, maybe 3 + support units sitting in PM a few months ago, then LST tried to drop the IJA 56th brigade on them... IJA left the next day without even trying to attack, minus a few ships & troops. I think he dropped them off at Milne Bay & I am pretty sure he was not able to get any supply to them since. Well, maybe some Fast transport TF's which I am happy if he uses them there instead of raiding where I would have to defend stuff.

It is all about making him spend fuel as inefficiently as possible. Doing speed runs with DD's or APD's is... not very fuel efficient.

[M Peaston]

19th January 1942



Another quiet turn.



CHINA

Sporadic Japanese air attacks. The Japanese bombard at Changzhi, Huangshan, Shuozhou and Tuanfeng.



INDIA/BURMA

Ariel recon confirms Sigint of a Japanese buildup at Chiang Mai. At Rangoon the AVG squadron is ordered to sweep Chiang Mai for a Squadron of Aussie Hudsons to bomb the airfield. Of course, we all know that the bombers will go in first, followed by the fighters after a suitably inconvenient delay…..such is life……



ABDA

Air attacks on Manila and Bataan, bombardment attacks at Clark Field and Manila.

Singapore is eerily quiet. Allied shipping is still able to come and go largely unmolested.

No sign of the Japanese TF that I thought may be heading for Kuching - perhaps it was heading for (or returning from) Miri/Brunei/Jesselton. I’m leaving my cruiser squadron and Hermes near Kuching for another day or two.....just in case.

The 6th Heavy AA Rgt is unloading at Koepang.



SWPAC/SOPAC

KB has disappeared from view off the Bismarcks. I need to get some reconnaissance going again over Truk and Babeldaob.



CENPAC

Sigint indicates a German Blockade runner East of Eniwetok. Is it heading for Japan, or France? I’ll keep an eye out.

Sigint also indicates that 144th Rgt is heading for Truk. This could be useful information on both a tactical and strategic level. Tactical: 144th Rgt took part in the assault at Wake, so I’ve ordered SS Tambor and Trout to Patrol between Wake and Truk in the hope of catching something. Strategic: where is the 144th going after Truk? South perhaps? Something else to keep an eye on.



SUBMARINE WARFARE

KXIII sinks xAK Nippo Maru ất Miri.
KXV sinks xAKL Tohuku Maru off Amoy

[JanSako]

"Singapore is eerily quiet. Allied shipping is still able to come and go largely unmolested."

You have a decision to make. If you have pulled back to Singers & if you can bring supplies up to say 100k or so, you can easily hold until May/June or even longer, depending on how good he is at land combat. Since you still control both Manila & Clark & Rabaul, I would guess he thinks he has time. Except he does not.
By then you can reinforce Sumatra to the gills, supplied with another s-ton of supply. (use the Western side ports once Oosthaven is interdicted). Without the Sumatra & Magwe fuel his economy WILL collapse. It is not a 'may', it is a 'will'. This happened to LST in our game. There is a reason Yamamoto promised 6 months of running wild, not 8 or 10 . Borneo & Java fuel is just enough to keep the resource convoys & a small part of IJN running.

The decision is whether you want to risk him throwing the towel that early.

[M Peaston]

Thanks JanSako,

Of all the problems that I thought I might encounter during this game, I never for an instant thought that winning too early might be one of them.

I rather carelessly lost 9th Indian Div in Malaya, otherwise I have now withdrawn into Singapore and planned to make a stand there with the remains of III Indian Corps, 8th Div and various permanently restricted units. Supply is around 98,000 and at the moment I could pump in more if I wanted to.

Is it that dire for Japan? What is it that is making Singapore potentially such a tough nut to crack? It’s not as if Fokko is behind where the Japanese were historically, or that I’ve played a blinder in Malaya. I ask because I’m not particularly familiar with witpae. If all the Allies need to do is conduct a headlong retreat into Singapore, then doesn’t that make the so-called Mersing Gambit something of a necessity for Japan? Or should Japan have been doing more to bomb Singapore into dust and interdicting the flow of supplies?

I could withdraw the Australians from Singapore making its capture easier. Another option might be to let things run until mid February, and if Singapore doesn’t show any signs of falling then perhaps negotiate some kind of withdrawal.

I’ll give it some thought.

JanSako, there may be a slight flaw in your analysis; did you take into account that I have a particular talent for ineptitude at crucial moments?

[RangerJoe]

Do not belittle yourself, if you do then you have already half lost.

[JanSako]

What is it that is making Singapore potentially such a tough nut to crack?

Forts, terrain X3 and the fact that he must shock attack across the strait. Full Allied Malaya garrison can be brought up to about 1600 AV. Your troops are pretty bad XP & Morale-wise BUT if he takes his time, they can train in Singers. This means that as long as your supply holds, you will inflict real bad casualties in every attack. Japan needs to bring in at least 3k AV to even have a chance, which is a lot in Bottlenecks. Really hard to do if Manila still holds & if you make a lot of noise in China to make him push anything he buys out of Manchukuo there.
Palembang can be turned into a great staging/support base for Singers, making him having to suppress two airfields, and you can rotate planes down to Java.
Sometimes (Japan) players do not know to withdraw depleted units back across to Johore & split to thirds & put into rest mode. If they keep them in Singers, it takes forever to replenish & recover them so it can take weeks between attacks. Which you use to build forts or shoot down his planes if he tries to stop you .

Again, as long as the supply holds. If your AV is over 1200 or so, or will be once everyone is fully reinforced, I would push more supply in. Your AA gunners will appreciate having the shells & they will shoot off a lot! Losing 2-3 planes daily + ops losses will make him go above the flak real fast, & trying to suppress Singers from 20k height is a futile endeavor for Japan. As long as you have supply (did I say that yet?).

IMO the Mersing gambit is the best play in Bottlenecks unless Japan greatly weakens Philippines and forgoes Burma altogether until Singers is taken. It is quite hard to stop all supply coming in (I used APD's and small xAKL's on speedrun from Palembang). This made him use surface TF's to interdict which I attacked with... anything that flies & carries a bomb...

[RangerJoe]

The base behind Palembang is best for the airfield, not Palembang itself since Palembang can be bombarded. But don't put sea mines at Palembang itself, put them in the hex where the river empties into the sea. Each day mines are laid count as a minefield so try not to lay them all in one day. Also, put subs one hex outside of that to try and sink any cripples that went to Palembang or hit a mine. Don't forget night naval search.

You can bring air units out of Singapore to rest and rebuild, then bounce them back into Singapore to wreck havoc for one turn. Repeat as necessary.

Also, you can bring just a small fragment out of each unit at Singapore if you want to so the entire unit is not destroyed if Singapore falls.

Protect Osthaven so the enemy can't easily invade behind you. Put minefields in the Sunda Straits as well.

[M Peaston]

Do not belittle yourself, if you do then you have already half lost.

A good point, Ranger Joe - taken on board!

[M Peaston]

Thanks guys for the very welcome advice as always.



20th January 1942


CHINA

18th Chinese Army takes Yongcheng on the Suchow-Kaifeng line.

Japanese bombers are out in force hitting various targets.



INDIA/BURMA

An Allied air attack at Chiang Mai claims 4 Thai Hawk IIIs shot down and a few dents in the runway.



ABDA

The storm breaks over Singapore! Sixty Oscars (mostly Ic) sweep. Nineteen Buffalos were lost in return for 9 Oscars claimed. A lot of the Buffalos lost seemed to be write-offs, and pilot losses were accordingly relatively light - 3 killed and 2 wounded. A bigger problem is the 18 Buffalos damaged and unavailable for several days. I can put up 25 fighters tomorrow, after that it is back to Batavia and Palembang to refit. (The airbase behind Palembang is Praboemoelih, and I’ll use that once I get some aviation support there - thanks Ranger Joe).

A squadron of Hurricanes has just arrived on Java and will be committed to the battle soon.

I’ve got to think what I’m going to do about the 3,000 British civilians that have turned up in Singapore (thanks LST!)



SWPAC/SOPAC/CENPAC

The first of the fuel convoys from Abadan arrives at Perth, as does the British 85th AT Rgt, ultimately bound for Timor.

No noticeable Japanese activity other than a few submarines hanging around Hawaii.



SUBMARINE WARFARE

S-37 sinks xAKL Yoshinogawa Maru off Soc Trang.


NAVAL SEARCH.

I lost 2 PBY-5 Catalina’s today to OP losses. To date I have lost 18 PBY-5s (all OP losses) and 17 PBY-4s (12 to OPS) - outstripping my replacement rates. I had been using them at 50% search at maximum normal range - I find spotting TFs at a longer range useful for adding to the intelligence picture even if it is too far away to respond tactically. However, an operational concept that isn’t materially sustainable isn’t a good one, no matter how useful it seems. I’m reducing search to 40% and reining in the range - I’ll keep an eye on losses and adjust as necessary.

[BBfanboy]

At one point one of the developers of the game stated that beyond 12 hexes the odds of naval search finding enemy ships vs the chance of loss wasn't worth it for routine search. That leaves room for max effort (range) when you suspect a very important enemy fleet is coming toward your search bases, but such efforts are meant to be a day or two.
After 12 hexes the width of the 10º search arc is too great for visibility side to side. By searching out at 12 hexes it should be possible to keep 50% of your aircraft in the air if they are not getting shot up or bombed at home base.
You could also consider weather in your plans. If the forecast calls for widespread extreme overcast or other weather likely to obscure the enemy you might want to pull your search arc in even further to have a more intensive search in the shorter arc.

[M Peaston]

At one point one of the developers of the game stated that beyond 12 hexes the odds of naval search finding enemy ships vs the chance of loss wasn't worth it for routine search. That leaves room for max effort (range) when you suspect a very important enemy fleet is coming toward your search bases, but such efforts are meant to be a day or two.
After 12 hexes the width of the 10º search arc is too great for visibility side to side. By searching out at 12 hexes it should be possible to keep 50% of your aircraft in the air if they are not getting shot up or bombed at home base.
You could also consider weather in your plans. If the forecast calls for widespread extreme overcast or other weather likely to obscure the enemy you might want to pull your search arc in even further to have a more intensive search in the shorter arc.

Thanks BB Fanboy, that’s very useful to know. I’ve generally adjusted my search range to 12 hexes now, with a few exceptions.


21st January 1942



CHINA

The usual Japanese air and ground bombardments at Changzhi, Shuozhou and Tuanfeng. The Chinese forces are holding up well.



INDIA/BURMA

Thai air force attacked Ye and Moulmein - the attack at Moulmein being easy prey for the AVG at Rangoon. I think Fokko is just testing my defences.



MALAYA/DEI

50+ Oscars swept Singapore, with even worse results for the Buffalos than yesterday. I’m wondering how the weather affects CAP. I noticed from the combat reports that out of the three Buffalo squadrons still in Singapore on CAP, 17 Buffalos were reported as being on standby but none were airborne; the weather was given as thunderstorms. I always check the forecasts (both for the area and the individual hex where possible) for any offensive air missions, but never thought about doing so for CAP. If poor weather can keep CAP grounded until an incoming raid is detected that could seriously diminish the tactic of using a layered CAP, particularly with a fighter with a slow rate of climb. This is definitely something I’ll be sure to keep an eye on in future.

I’m ceding control of the air over Singapore - for now. 223 Group HQ is heading for Batavia, and I’ll rebuild my squadrons around Batavia/Palembang/Praboemoelih with a mixture of Buffalos and Hurricanes.

Four Japanese Heavy Cruisers and attendant escorts bombarded Kuching, waltzing past my cruiser squadron patrolling there. I couldn’t find the button for having the TF commander shot; I presume the button will become available once the TF reaches port. (The failure of my cruisers to intercept might have something to do with me not yet having implemented Ranger Joe’s advice on night naval searches, but I’d rather just blame the TF commander). On reflection, it is probably a good thing that my cruisers failed to engage; they would have been outgunned and, as Japan now holds the airfields of central and southern Malaya much of the rationale for fighting to hold Kuching as long as possible has now gone.

Mini-KB appears to have retired to Babeldaob.



PHILIPPINES.

The Japanese Bombard attack at Clark Field and Manila. I was relieved there was no deliberate attack at Clark Field. The Japanese reinforcements from San Fernando are starting to make a difference; yesterdays assault resulted in a spike of destroyed rather than disabled units for the defenders.



SWPAC/SOPAC/CENPAC

CL Achilles and two DDs are heading for the Gilberts with orders to look for trouble.

KBs whereabouts is currently unknown.

[BBfanboy]

M Peaston: Thai air force attacked Ye and Moulmein ...

Everyone is attacking Ye (the artist formerly known as Kanye) these days ...

[RangerJoe]

Check the altitude for his sweeps. If there is no HR for altitude, then put your fighters 5k to 10k feet above his when you bounce them in and out.

Don't forget to start air transporting parts of units out of Singapore so you don't have to buy them back and wait. If nothing else, fill them out with just supplies, engineers, and other common devices but not infantry or devices in short supply. They can help to improve bases while training back up. Extra support can also help to get other mauled units back into shape much quicker.

[M Peaston]

M Peaston: Thai air force attacked Ye and Moulmein ...

Everyone is attacking Ye (the artist formerly known as Kanye) these days ...