US supply to USSR via Pacific

[Helsingor]

I may have misread the Strategic Advice panel when it displayed during my latest game, but it seemed to be saying that Japan could block the trans-Pacific supply convoys from the US to the USSR by taking ANY ONE of a list of cities. One city on the list was Honolulu. Playing as Axis, I took Honolulu, but the convoy route still shows as red ( i.e. active) and in fact my opponent is sending something like 240 MPPs to the Soviet Union, apparently all via this route (I have blocked the Murmansk railroad and the Persian Gulf route and the route to Archangelsk is also inactive.)

So a few questions: am I wrong to think that it is sufficient to block the trans-Pacific convoy by capturing Honolulu ONLY? If I am wrong, what other conditions need to be met in order to block the convoy?
Also, is the amount the US sends to the USSR adjustable from the default value of 40 MPP (worth 80 MPP to the USSR)?

USSR and Japan are not currently at war in the match in question, so I know I can't use Japanese air or naval assets in Raider mode to lessen the convoy's value. That's historically accurate AFAIK. I believe the US used Russian-flagged ships during the actual war and the Japanese could not attack them without going to war with the USSR, which they did not wish to do.

One last question: could German naval assets raid this convoy, given that Germany is a belligerent with respect to both the US and the USSR?

[Bo Rearguard]

Technically there is no convoy route (red line) on the map from the USA to Vladivostok. It's simply a gifted amount that the USSR receives each turn from the USA. You mentioned that there is still a convoy route to the USSR your opponent is currently using but where on the map is it? As far as I know the only "printed" route on the map to the USSR is the one from the UK to either Murmansk or Archangel. That one is, of course, unaffected by events in the Pacific.

Also, if the US accepts DE 317, the amount of 40 MPPs which is subtracted from its MPP pool (and is worth double to the Soviets) is nonadjustable. It's much like the Molotov-Ribbentrop gift of 25 MPPs that the Soviets send the Germans each turn while they are still at peace. It just gets automatically added to the MPP pool at the beginning of a turn.

Regarding your last question German naval units can't raid a convoy line that isn't showing on the map. However, they can damage Vladivostok port if in one of the red-hatched hexes outside the port.

[Bo Rearguard]

I suppose you could ask your opponent if they are still seeing this "+80 Supplies" line item in the Soviet MPP totals. If he isn't, then taking Honolulu apparently did the trick.

Line item.jpg (6.21 KiB) Viewed 680 times

[Helsingor]

Just to clarify: In the match in question--I had also taken The British Isles in 1940.

Cpl. Rearguard, you are correct that usually there is no convoy route shown between the US West Coast and Vladivostok, BUT in this match I could see one (my opponent has since resigned). And I confirmed from the graphs that the USSR was receiving over 200 MPPs via convoy, which could only have come from the trans-Pacific route.

I'm guessing that the capture of the British Isles somehow triggered a change in US convoy capacities to the USSR. But I admit I have never noticed this change before in games where I have managed a successful Sealion or been the victim of one. Can anyone weigh in?

[Bo Rearguard]

I'm guessing that the capture of the British Isles somehow triggered a change in US convoy capacities to the USSR. But I admit I have never noticed this change before in games where I have managed a successful Sealion or been the victim of one. Can anyone weigh in?

Bingo. The capture of the British Isles is likely the reason. One of the odd limitations of the Strategic Command game engine is that each nation can only send one convoy line. So, if the US-UK line has ceased to exist due to the capture of the British Isles, then a US-USSR one can open up. However, since this is likely a separate event from the DE 317 US MPP gift, I don't know if capturing Honolulu would effect it or if DE 317 simply gets annulled by having an actual convoy line open up where you can send the USSR as many MPPs as you want.