Sailing in harms way: InHarmsWay (J) vs Andav (A) Scen2

[InHarmsWay]

PaxMondo, totally agree! I have that Adak quick reaction force onshore at Adak! The island is about a full as I can make it, will bring in more supplies but as it stands, below is the current status at the base. What is not seen in the list of units are two more ART units and two more AA units, and the Air HQ (21st Air Flotilla), The base Artillery rating is 139, and a Flak rating of 37. I am at staking limits right now. What I was nervous was the swap out of the 24th division (61 exp) with the 39th Division (exp 87). Now that that is complete, I feel I can hold it for a bit.

In the area, on the different bases are ~130 fighters, ~100 Netties, 12 Jills, and ~30 Patrol aircraft. Several more Netty formations are close, just didnt want to overstack. He has only once tried to bomb the base, and went away with significant losses from CAP and AA.

I dont think he knows the 3rd Special Base Force and the CD detachment are both at Adak. He has yet to bombard the base.

June 04 1943 Adak Base.jpg (234.23 KiB) Viewed 159 times

[InHarmsWay]

June 4, 1943. Admiral Harmasaki looks over the situation map in Burma and begins to breath easier. The flanking attack by Admiral Wa, aimed straight for the supply lines into the interior of Burma had been threatened by a sudden Allied move towards Toungoo. To date, 6 units have identified all marching on Toungoo. The list included several large Infantry Divisions, clearly more than just a feint, and something that had to be treated with respect:

9th Australian Division
27th Infantry Division
41st Infantry Division
14th British Brigade
641 Towed TD Btn
One hex behind, the Americal Division was seen as well...

A quick rail movement of units to Toungoo now has 434 AV of units at the base, and from close recon pictures, the allies have seemed to stopped their forward thrust and begun moving to the North of the base.

Still not out of danger, the IJA has the 4th Ind Mixed Rgmt (120 AV) is only 30 miles from the base, marching up from the south. Two Division that had been up north are also on the move south. One is 51 miles from the base, then other is 73 miles from the base. In combination, a flanking force (18th division + 5th recon rgt and two AA units) is two days march from the Allied divisions. This I believe was what slowed the Allied advance as he could not afford to have me pocket his units at Toungoo.

June 04 1943 Burma region.jpg (777.99 KiB) Viewed 152 times

Keeping track of allied units elsewhere in Burma:
Near Lashio (63, 46) has: 2nd British Division, 254th and 255th Armoured Brigades
Near Lashio (62, 45) has: 26th Ind Bgde, 268th Mot Bgde, two US Tank Btns, art btn, and 1/3 of the 19th Ind Div.

[PaxMondo]

PaxMondo, totally agree! I have that Adak quick reaction force onshore at Adak!

I'm suggesting another force, separate from what you put on Adak as garrison. Why? In a few months time, your opponent will assemble his Death Star. Once he does, there is no base on the map that he cannot take. Take this previous sentence as gospel. However, taking it and holding it are two very different things. Once taken the Death Star will have to RTB to replenish. At that time your reaction force can retake Adak. Unless your opponent is very good, or reading this, he won't likely have a follow-on force ready to re-take Adak for a few months ... you just bought those months. Do that 2 or 3 times and the game is over ... and you win.

As the IJ, you have to remember that your opponent is on a clock, time is your ally, not his. From late '43 onward, a delay strategy can be quite effective. It revolves around your ability to react faster than he can ... he has in the end only 2 avenues of attack and you know them. First, you want to force him to the longer approach (the Southern route), then knowing where he must attack, have a good defense in place, but most importantly an overwhelming reaction force to sweep in after he leaves to replenish.

[InHarmsWay]

PaxMondo, you are a sneaky, evil genius! I was not thinking along those lines, but you are right, once the death star shows up, it gets ugly. I have been focusing on making sure I can counter any landings between Rangoon and Singapore. Need to look at the map in a new light!

[PaxMondo]

PaxMondo, you are a sneaky, evil genius! I was not thinking along those lines, but you are right, once the death star shows up, it gets ugly. I have been focusing on making sure I can counter any landings between Rangoon and Singapore. Need to look at the map in a new light!

Evil, sure. Genius, not so much.

Countering landings between Rangoon and Singers basically requires the KB ... and if he know it is there, then he is free to pursue the HI ... not a good result for you. Always remember: he cannot win the game in SE Asia, but the IJ can LOSE the game there.

I rarely concern myself with allied landings on the west coast of Malay Peninsula ... its a landing on the east coast of SE Asia that is the killer. If he does that, he traps ALL of your forces to the West of Hanoi ... very, very bad for you. The IJ has to keep an escape path open from Burma/Malay to Liuchow at all costs. Overland from Udon Thani to Vinh is over 15 days, closer to 20 days of walking for your troops. The allies can cover that distance in 10-15 days. Yes, they ARE faster, a lot faster as they have trucks ...

You will lose Burma/Malay, that is fine. You just cannot lose the IJ Army doing it. You need to decide which units you will sacrifice in Singers, and ALL the rest need to safely escape to CHI. Imagine a line roughly from Kunming to Hanoi. That is your first line of defense after Burma. (I actually setup on the east bank of the river, but not going to quibble over one hex here). Then draw several more imaginary N/S lines about 5 hexes apart ... those are your fall back lines. For each one, your biggest concern is an amphib landing on the South China Sea EAST of your defensive line.

This is the Asian theatre in a nutshell. With luck and good planning, by the time his forces reach your Hankow/Shanghai line it is 12/45 game over.