12th June, 1942
Been a quiet few days, so no updates for a couple of them.
BURMA/INDIA
I started turning the heavy bombers onto the Imperial Guard for experiences sake, as there are no other targets for them to abuse.
Bangalore airfield is now at 5 I see, so I'm going to move some construction regiments around. Hyderabad is now being improved, but I think I'm going to send a couple of ENG units to Ledo to work on improving the airfield there, and use it as a forward base for heavy bombers, now Dacca seems to have run out of useful targets.
No sign of Jap aggression yet. Myritkina has a lot of troops there but they are really suffering from malaria - fatigue 50+, they have been there for months bear in mind - in an ideal world I would rotate them. But I cant, its too remote. I think when the Chindit Bdes arrive thats what I'll do with them, rotate them to Myritkina and swap out a few Chinese divs. There are a lot of Jap units at Mandalay, I just hope Mandalay is malarial and they are also suffering.
First Spitfire encounter of the war! My Hurricanes at Myritkina upgraded, and his recon planes met them. Maneuverability 34, the P40 just got a rival. [:D]
CHINA
China is heavily engaged now, the bulk of the Chinese army is in combat.
---------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Kungchang
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 59801 troops, 556 guns, 1 vehicles
Defending force 33318 troops, 142 guns, 0 vehicles
Japanese assault odds: 0 to 1 (fort level 3)
Japanese ground losses:
936 casualties reported
Guns lost 24
Allied ground losses:
445 casualties reported
Guns lost 13
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Sian
Japanese Bombardment attack
Attacking force 202229 troops, 1802 guns, 24 vehicles
Defending force 255909 troops, 1175 guns, 0 vehicles
Allied ground losses:
96 casualties reported
-----------------------------------------------------------------Ground combat at Chungking
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 133716 troops, 1495 guns, 13 vehicles
Defending force 85936 troops, 386 guns, 0 vehicles
Japanese assault odds: 0 to 1 (fort level 9)
Japanese ground losses:
6402 casualties reported
Guns lost 200
Vehicles lost 7
Allied ground losses:
571 casualties reported
Guns lost 7
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The pressure is on, the industry in Chungking interrupted by his siege. Time for another spoiling attack to take the pressure off. Unfortunately there isnt much left to attack with! I'm sending half a dozen units at Kweiyang east along the road towards Changsha, which he wont be able to ignore.
JAVA/DEI
Soerabaja clings on but not for much longer. Its down to rating 6 fortifications. Looks like none of the Royal Sovereigns he torpedoed will sink - he has two submarines marking Koepang so he obviously is hoping for a score if they venture out of the dock, my DDs are hunting for them but havnt found them yet.
He's cleaning up Sulawesi slowly too now, Pinrang fell today.
SOPAC/AUS
Lunga fell today! I had to rest the marines up all this time as the disruption caused in the landing messed up em quite badly, but it seems that casualties werent too severe in the end, after some rest.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Lunga
Allied Deliberate attack
Attacking force 18862 troops, 182 guns, 14 vehicles
Defending force 13757 troops, 48 guns, 9 vehicles
Allied assault odds: 3 to 1 (fort level 0)
Allied forces CAPTURE Lunga base !!!
Japanese aircraft
no flights
Japanese aircraft losses
H8K Emily: 4 destroyed
Japanese ground losses:
553 casualties reported
Guns lost 9
Allied ground losses:
221 casualties reported
Guns lost 8
-----------------------------------------------------------------
213 engineers are already there but no engineering vehicles. Airfield and port are currently only level 1.
A big minelayer squadron (3 DMs, 1 ML) has been waiting at Noumea for the word to go. The word is now given, so insta-minefield at Lunga should dissuade him from revenge. Should be a fairly hefty one.
I'm going to further reinforce Lunga with III Corps HQ, 1st SeaBees, and a CD battery. ETA for that - probably a week and a half. The base only has 10,000 supplies so thats a priority as well.
Noumea is fortunately well stocked, 700,000 supply and fuel apiece, and more troops arrive almost weekly here. With the Central Pacfic quiet this is the place where American troops get sent.
CENTPAC/NORPAC
As mentioned, all quiet here! [;)]
Canton Island is about to get reinforced with 48 Fortresses which will enhance my offensive island hopping abilities in CentPac significantly. While Noumea builds I am now pondering nibbling at him here. While his carriers are away, the mice will play!
EUB vs Sprior - see who gets his banana straightened
Moderators: wdolson, Don Bowen, mogami
RE: Lunga recaptured
15th June, 1942
BURMA/INDIA
Jap ships are spotted near the Indian coast, just five hexes south of Yanam! A CA and an AP say the pilots. I call BS.
The British fleet leaves Colombo, carriers and Warspite group headed west of Ceylon to avoid carrier strikes, and Resolution going to Karachi. Until I have better idea of Jap intentions I'm staying back out of the way.
16 Forts and 16 Liberators are moved to Bangalore to cover the southern tip of India.
And thats all - until I have a better idea of what Japanese intentions and forces are.
CHINA
He attacked Chungking today and was bloodily repulsed. Sian and Kunchang remain at stalemate. Really there isnt much going on here but I think he has the slight advantage and will ultimately prevail unless I can do something about it. Unfortunately - there isnt anything I can do about it. [:(]
JAVA/DEI
Soerabaja falls today so Java is now entirely in his hands. The Royal Navy is still being fixed at Koepang, I plan on evaccing them when their flotation reaches 0 but thats going to be several days away at current rates of repair.
SOPAC/AUS
Lots of Jap shipping around Gili Gili - whats going on here then eh? CAs and DDs sighted, could be anything. Submarine pickets in the area sighted but did not attack the enemy, and its too far for Fortresses out of Cairns to really sortie effectively.
The abovementioned reinforcements for Lunga are now being loaded onto transports at Noumea. Due to extreme wear and tear CV Enterprise is now really unusable on 11 system damage, the other carriers could all be sortied if need be. Looks like the Lunga convoy will need CV escort, anyway. I'm not confident/ballsy enough to raid Gili Gili with my carriers, god only knows how many torpedo bombers he has at Rabaul, and while I'll happily risk surface combatants, carriers I husband most carefully, so they are staying put. The earlier ambush at Java did a lot of bad things to my blood pressure. [:D]
CENTPAC/NORPAC
48 Fortresses finally arrive at Canton Island and are unloading, along with some supply. Eastish of Canton and headed for Noumea are the 1st USMC division and 64 Marauders, reinforcements for the South Pacific campaign which looks to be rapidly hotting up now. Looks like they'll be in time for the party anyway. The real lack, as ever, is quality base forces to put at Lunga. As the airstrip is still being built this isnt a problem for now, but in the not too distant future I will, obviously, want to base aircraft at Henderson Field. Large numbers of aviation support units will be arriving at San Francisco in about 3 weeks, hopefully I will have shipping enough to transport at least some of them to the South Pacific.
BURMA/INDIA
Jap ships are spotted near the Indian coast, just five hexes south of Yanam! A CA and an AP say the pilots. I call BS.
The British fleet leaves Colombo, carriers and Warspite group headed west of Ceylon to avoid carrier strikes, and Resolution going to Karachi. Until I have better idea of Jap intentions I'm staying back out of the way.
16 Forts and 16 Liberators are moved to Bangalore to cover the southern tip of India.
And thats all - until I have a better idea of what Japanese intentions and forces are.
CHINA
He attacked Chungking today and was bloodily repulsed. Sian and Kunchang remain at stalemate. Really there isnt much going on here but I think he has the slight advantage and will ultimately prevail unless I can do something about it. Unfortunately - there isnt anything I can do about it. [:(]
JAVA/DEI
Soerabaja falls today so Java is now entirely in his hands. The Royal Navy is still being fixed at Koepang, I plan on evaccing them when their flotation reaches 0 but thats going to be several days away at current rates of repair.
SOPAC/AUS
Lots of Jap shipping around Gili Gili - whats going on here then eh? CAs and DDs sighted, could be anything. Submarine pickets in the area sighted but did not attack the enemy, and its too far for Fortresses out of Cairns to really sortie effectively.
The abovementioned reinforcements for Lunga are now being loaded onto transports at Noumea. Due to extreme wear and tear CV Enterprise is now really unusable on 11 system damage, the other carriers could all be sortied if need be. Looks like the Lunga convoy will need CV escort, anyway. I'm not confident/ballsy enough to raid Gili Gili with my carriers, god only knows how many torpedo bombers he has at Rabaul, and while I'll happily risk surface combatants, carriers I husband most carefully, so they are staying put. The earlier ambush at Java did a lot of bad things to my blood pressure. [:D]
CENTPAC/NORPAC
48 Fortresses finally arrive at Canton Island and are unloading, along with some supply. Eastish of Canton and headed for Noumea are the 1st USMC division and 64 Marauders, reinforcements for the South Pacific campaign which looks to be rapidly hotting up now. Looks like they'll be in time for the party anyway. The real lack, as ever, is quality base forces to put at Lunga. As the airstrip is still being built this isnt a problem for now, but in the not too distant future I will, obviously, want to base aircraft at Henderson Field. Large numbers of aviation support units will be arriving at San Francisco in about 3 weeks, hopefully I will have shipping enough to transport at least some of them to the South Pacific.
RE: Lunga recaptured
A CA and an AP say the pilots. I call BS.
Good call. I've seen my recon pilots turn subs into BBs before. [8|]
RE: Lunga recaptured
18th June 1942
We're definitely in a lull phase again, there isnt a whole lot going on. The strange Jap fleet sighted near India has vanished, so the place has stepped down from panic stations. Time to take stock of the situation I think, and I finally got the Gimp installed, so here is the big map.
The Allied sub pickets kinda stand out as they are all in neat rows. [:D]. And the shotgun blast of convoys all over the Pacific shows up my lack of use of the One Big Convoy technique.
North Carolina with DD Stack as escort left SF today headed for Noumea, aside from that all major fleet assets are at Noumea already, with the exception of a handful of DDs and DMSes scattered around the Pacific for ASW work and a single battleship with escorts at Dutch Harbour.
Royal Sovereign, Revenge, Ramillies and about half the Royal Navy cruisers are at Koepang - all the battleships are awaiting evacuation as they have been bashed about by the KB. The remainder of the RN is at Ceylon, with the exception of 2 British CVs which are at Noumea to give the Americans some valuable naval torpedo bomber capability. They are lying low though so he doesnt realise that the fleet in being at Ceylon is much weaker than he might expect it to be.
Koepang, Noumea, Canton Island and Dutch Harbour are all major fortresses now with as much supply as I can get to them (in Koepangs case, not enough, but the others are well stocked, with Noumea -very- well stocked).
Australia is pretty much bare of really solid bases aside from Brisbane, I have a big aviation support unit on the way from India though (its the westernmost green blob level with the top tip of Sumatra). Ledo is on my list of bases to expand now Bangalore airfield is level 5, I got 2 construction units headed there - I hope to station heavy bombers there if I can get it up high enough so I can intervene in China, which badly needs some help, even if its only bombing with vaguely unsuitable bombers from far far away. Luganville is being built up as a reserve base as well (Fortresses can hit Guadalcanal from there). There is a fair bit of basebuilding going on in the extreme north as well around Attu Island.
We're definitely in a lull phase again, there isnt a whole lot going on. The strange Jap fleet sighted near India has vanished, so the place has stepped down from panic stations. Time to take stock of the situation I think, and I finally got the Gimp installed, so here is the big map.
The Allied sub pickets kinda stand out as they are all in neat rows. [:D]. And the shotgun blast of convoys all over the Pacific shows up my lack of use of the One Big Convoy technique.
North Carolina with DD Stack as escort left SF today headed for Noumea, aside from that all major fleet assets are at Noumea already, with the exception of a handful of DDs and DMSes scattered around the Pacific for ASW work and a single battleship with escorts at Dutch Harbour.
Royal Sovereign, Revenge, Ramillies and about half the Royal Navy cruisers are at Koepang - all the battleships are awaiting evacuation as they have been bashed about by the KB. The remainder of the RN is at Ceylon, with the exception of 2 British CVs which are at Noumea to give the Americans some valuable naval torpedo bomber capability. They are lying low though so he doesnt realise that the fleet in being at Ceylon is much weaker than he might expect it to be.
Koepang, Noumea, Canton Island and Dutch Harbour are all major fortresses now with as much supply as I can get to them (in Koepangs case, not enough, but the others are well stocked, with Noumea -very- well stocked).
Australia is pretty much bare of really solid bases aside from Brisbane, I have a big aviation support unit on the way from India though (its the westernmost green blob level with the top tip of Sumatra). Ledo is on my list of bases to expand now Bangalore airfield is level 5, I got 2 construction units headed there - I hope to station heavy bombers there if I can get it up high enough so I can intervene in China, which badly needs some help, even if its only bombing with vaguely unsuitable bombers from far far away. Luganville is being built up as a reserve base as well (Fortresses can hit Guadalcanal from there). There is a fair bit of basebuilding going on in the extreme north as well around Attu Island.
RE: Lunga recaptured
Naval losses so far
Allied
6 BB (ouch)
1 BC
12 CA (ouch)
10 CL (ouch)
34 DD
67 AP/AK
9 TK
2 AO
14 SS
3 ML
5 PG
3 DM
1 DMS
13 MSW
1 AVD
Japanese
1 CVE (Hosho)
1 CVL (Zuiho)
5 BB
2 CA
8 CL (Jap CL seem to be worthless anyway, Allied CL always seem to outgun them)
19 DD
5 APD
88 AP/AK
7 TK
32 SS
6 PG
7 PC
1 ML
11 MSW
For the curious on the performance of the subs, as I must admit I was always a Silent Service fan so I keep an eye on these guys - I'm not sure which boats carry which torpedoes and I may have included a few aircraft torpedoes by mistake, but I think the multinational Silent Service has amassed...
533mm torpedoes have accounted for 11 merchantmen and 1 BB (woot) (Dutch/British forward tubes)
450mm torpedoes have accounted for 7 merchantmen - I believe this torpedo is used by torpedo bombers as well as subs, so not sure how those split out
21 inch Mk10 torpedoes have accounted for 4 merchantmen (thats S-boats I think?)
21 inch Mk14 torpedoes have accounted for 12 merchantmen (US fleet subs)
21 inch Mk15 torpedoes have accounted for 1 escort (US fleet sub I think)
21 inch Mk8 torpedoes have accounted for 5 merchantmen
So the submarines have managed about a 2 and a half to one kill ratio in the first six months of the war, representing a very small fraction of the total Japanese shipping lost (about 1 in 7 Jap ships that have been sunk were sunk by submarines).
Allied
6 BB (ouch)
1 BC
12 CA (ouch)
10 CL (ouch)
34 DD
67 AP/AK
9 TK
2 AO
14 SS
3 ML
5 PG
3 DM
1 DMS
13 MSW
1 AVD
Japanese
1 CVE (Hosho)
1 CVL (Zuiho)
5 BB
2 CA
8 CL (Jap CL seem to be worthless anyway, Allied CL always seem to outgun them)
19 DD
5 APD
88 AP/AK
7 TK
32 SS
6 PG
7 PC
1 ML
11 MSW
For the curious on the performance of the subs, as I must admit I was always a Silent Service fan so I keep an eye on these guys - I'm not sure which boats carry which torpedoes and I may have included a few aircraft torpedoes by mistake, but I think the multinational Silent Service has amassed...
533mm torpedoes have accounted for 11 merchantmen and 1 BB (woot) (Dutch/British forward tubes)
450mm torpedoes have accounted for 7 merchantmen - I believe this torpedo is used by torpedo bombers as well as subs, so not sure how those split out
21 inch Mk10 torpedoes have accounted for 4 merchantmen (thats S-boats I think?)
21 inch Mk14 torpedoes have accounted for 12 merchantmen (US fleet subs)
21 inch Mk15 torpedoes have accounted for 1 escort (US fleet sub I think)
21 inch Mk8 torpedoes have accounted for 5 merchantmen
So the submarines have managed about a 2 and a half to one kill ratio in the first six months of the war, representing a very small fraction of the total Japanese shipping lost (about 1 in 7 Jap ships that have been sunk were sunk by submarines).
RE: Lunga recaptured
Air losses so far : I'm very happy with the performance of the various Allies airforces from April onwards. The slaughter of the early war has certainly been put right!
Our overall air losses are almost identical, he is slightly ahead still, thanks to catching 800 on the ground in the early months of the war - I'm catching up fast tho!
Our overall air losses are almost identical, he is slightly ahead still, thanks to catching 800 on the ground in the early months of the war - I'm catching up fast tho!
RE: Lunga recaptured
Hmm...
does anybody know how long it would take 150 transport aircraft to move a division of troops?
I'm pondering reinforcing China from India, before I ponder too hard I'd like to know if such a thing is even feasible.
does anybody know how long it would take 150 transport aircraft to move a division of troops?
I'm pondering reinforcing China from India, before I ponder too hard I'd like to know if such a thing is even feasible.
RE: Lunga recaptured
Interesting question. I am currently using 16 Dak Is, 8 Loadstars and 8 Lockheed 212's to move a Chinese Division. You need the C47/Dakota to move the big stuff, like 105's and support efficiently. That said, this combo is moving about..hmm...let me check...600 AP load points per turn approximately, given good weather.ORIGINAL: EUBanana
Hmm...
does anybody know how long it would take 150 transport aircraft to move a division of troops?
I'm pondering reinforcing China from India, before I ponder too hard I'd like to know if such a thing is even feasible.
Breaking that down, the Daks give 160,000 load, Loadstars 24,000 and the 212's are hardly worth the gas at 8,000. Total then is 192000 to do around 650 load points gives a result of 295 pounds of lift capacity for an AP load point.
Moving on to your question, then presuming that you have 150 Dakota/C47s, that gives you 1.5 MILLION pounds of lift; this should move in good weather 5084 AP load points. Sounds like one whole Chinese Division or around 1/2 of an Allied one of decent size.
If the weather is rain during the lift, expect 1/2 or so to move. Tstorms, I dunno, but wouldn't reccomend flying during it unless you have to.
In "good" flying weather (overcast or better) expect your transport squadrons to take a 1 point morale hit every day.
Note, this is actual conditions, not a test. And, not a long hop. Longer distance might change the numbers, don't know if that is reflected in any thing lift wise. Longer distance will certainly effect ops loss and fatigue/morale on the flyers.
Personal note: this is a nice way to move units in the area of course.
Ex. The Division that is air lifting is meeting some units that have marched there during prior WEEKS. Air lifted division has 54% of unit at target in 5 days of movement. That 54% unit has a HIGHER AS value than either of the overland moving units and its disruption/fatigue, while high at 15/50 is still lower than the ones that marched there.
Just be very careful and watch to make sure that the unit in the "target" hex switches designation from a fragment (/1) to the parent BEFORE you send the remainder of the unit on to it. Various statements from other users indicate that if the parent piece is lost in transit, that the entire unit is subject to being disappeared from the map, if you understand.
Sing to the tune of "Man on the Flying Trapeze"
..Oh! We fly o'er the treetops with inches to spare,
There's smoke in the cockpit and gray in my hair.
The tracers look fine as a strafin' we go.
But, brother, we're TOO God damn low...
..Oh! We fly o'er the treetops with inches to spare,
There's smoke in the cockpit and gray in my hair.
The tracers look fine as a strafin' we go.
But, brother, we're TOO God damn low...
RE: Lunga recaptured
Hmm.
I'm going to try airlifting a Chinese division from Myritkina (where it rots with malaria) to Ledo and see how long it takes. I need to evac those units anyway, so I'll try that out as a test run.
If it looks feasible I'll consider sending some units to China. If its quick enough - like, say, a week - then it seems i could pull the units back again if need be without too much trouble.
I'm going to try airlifting a Chinese division from Myritkina (where it rots with malaria) to Ledo and see how long it takes. I need to evac those units anyway, so I'll try that out as a test run.
If it looks feasible I'll consider sending some units to China. If its quick enough - like, say, a week - then it seems i could pull the units back again if need be without too much trouble.
RE: Lunga recaptured
Well, I gave the order this turn to pick up a Chinese division from Myritkina and send it to Ledo - its about 80 assault points.
Slightly over 150 transport aircraft are doing the deed, about half of them are C-47s.
If it turns out to be very quick I might try rotating some exhausted Chinese divisions so they can R&R in Calcutta (!) - sort of a case of if you cant bring the supply to the division, bring the division to the supply... I have several almost totally spent Chinese divs at Myritkina so if I could rest those up that'd be something.
If it is of moderate speed then it means I could, if need be, send a couple of UK Divs to China and draw them back again reasonably rapidly (I'm only thinking about the Chungking area so not too deep into China) which should really stiffen the defence there.
China seems to be slowly dying no matter what I do. The massive supply effort has had a dividend, no Chinese base is out of supply so that isnt such a problem, but despite this talk of hordes I seem to be outnumbered everywhere I turn... so things are getting desperate, it might be up to the Brits to intervene.
Slightly over 150 transport aircraft are doing the deed, about half of them are C-47s.
If it turns out to be very quick I might try rotating some exhausted Chinese divisions so they can R&R in Calcutta (!) - sort of a case of if you cant bring the supply to the division, bring the division to the supply... I have several almost totally spent Chinese divs at Myritkina so if I could rest those up that'd be something.
If it is of moderate speed then it means I could, if need be, send a couple of UK Divs to China and draw them back again reasonably rapidly (I'm only thinking about the Chungking area so not too deep into China) which should really stiffen the defence there.
China seems to be slowly dying no matter what I do. The massive supply effort has had a dividend, no Chinese base is out of supply so that isnt such a problem, but despite this talk of hordes I seem to be outnumbered everywhere I turn... so things are getting desperate, it might be up to the Brits to intervene.
RE: Lunga recaptured
ORIGINAL: EUBanana
Well, I gave the order this turn to pick up a Chinese division from Myritkina and send it to Ledo - its about 80 assault points.
Slightly over 150 transport aircraft are doing the deed, about half of them are C-47s.
Query: what are the other 75 transports? Dakota I's are the same as the C47 and I can't think of another type of troop transport that you would have in those numbers off hand.
The only other transport types that I can think of are the 2 Dutch squadrons of Loadstars and 212's.
Sing to the tune of "Man on the Flying Trapeze"
..Oh! We fly o'er the treetops with inches to spare,
There's smoke in the cockpit and gray in my hair.
The tracers look fine as a strafin' we go.
But, brother, we're TOO God damn low...
..Oh! We fly o'er the treetops with inches to spare,
There's smoke in the cockpit and gray in my hair.
The tracers look fine as a strafin' we go.
But, brother, we're TOO God damn low...
RE: Lunga recaptured
ORIGINAL: tabpub
ORIGINAL: EUBanana
Well, I gave the order this turn to pick up a Chinese division from Myritkina and send it to Ledo - its about 80 assault points.
Slightly over 150 transport aircraft are doing the deed, about half of them are C-47s.
Query: what are the other 75 transports? Dakota I's are the same as the C47 and I can't think of another type of troop transport that you would have in those numbers off hand.
The only other transport types that I can think of are the 2 Dutch squadrons of Loadstars and 212's.
Ahh, they are Dakota Is, the others.
Four squadrons of Dakota Is, one squadron of Lockheed 212s, 1 squadron of Lodestars, 5 squadrons of C-47s, which currently comes to 156 transport aircraft.
They are operating out of Ledo which is only level 3 so I presume there must be a penalty there. Be interesting to see how quickly large bodies of troops can be shuttled around with that lot, but I cant really spare them for too much troop lifting - they are busy feeding China.
RE: Lunga recaptured
They have maximum load 10,000 per aircraft, but how many supply points of lift does that translate to?
RE: Lunga recaptured
ORIGINAL: EUBanana
They have maximum load 10,000 per aircraft, but how many supply points of lift does that translate to?
Well, each supply point should equal 2000, so that would be five (5).
So, squadron of 16 brings in 90 supply; 10 squadrons would send 900.
Presuming all operational, good weather,etc...
That would be about the daily supply for a division/Chinese corps.
Sing to the tune of "Man on the Flying Trapeze"
..Oh! We fly o'er the treetops with inches to spare,
There's smoke in the cockpit and gray in my hair.
The tracers look fine as a strafin' we go.
But, brother, we're TOO God damn low...
..Oh! We fly o'er the treetops with inches to spare,
There's smoke in the cockpit and gray in my hair.
The tracers look fine as a strafin' we go.
But, brother, we're TOO God damn low...
RE: Lunga recaptured
Well, just got the turn back. They managed to transport almost, but not quite, the entire thing in one day. About 70 assault points worth of Chinese division.
Wow.
[X(]
*rubs hands*
Ohhhhh we're gonna have some fun in Burma soon I think.
Wow.
[X(]
*rubs hands*
Ohhhhh we're gonna have some fun in Burma soon I think.
RE: Lunga recaptured
A short update as its 2.50am, I'm only here because I'm suffering with insomnia [:(].
Suffice to say it is now the 25th June, 1942. Not a great deal has happened of import since the last post. The damaged British battleships have slipped away from Koepang unmolested by the submarines he had put in their path thanks to a combination of ASW and avoidance. Lunga is about to be reinforced with SeaBees and an HQ as mentioned above, they should be at the island tomorrow - the island has a port 2 now, slightly improved in readiness. Luganville is being developed fully I have decided as it cements my hold on Guadalcanal, its up to rating 4 airfield and 4 port, now.
In Burma I've airlifted one Chinese division from Myritkina and its going to Calcutta to be fixed. Interesting to see how long that takes. I'm in the process of airlifting another one to do likewise. We'll have to see how long they take to fix but I'd like to freshen all my Chinese units there and then maybe consider an offensive in Burma with them, as his units are presumably exhausted from malaria and their failed offensive into India, months ago, which presumably the malaria has kept him from recovering from.
There is a feeling of tenseness in the air. The Supreme Commander is convinced the Japs are up to something. Its been a whole week now with barely a single bomb landing on an Allied base. Ships have been spotted at Rangoon but with no identification at all - the Supreme Commander thinks he has designs on India. Which is a little puzzling as my submarine pickets picked up nothing at all. He could have gone up the west side of Sumatra I suppose and avoided them - or maybe its just a small force which slipped past? Who knows.
The S.C. believes his carriers retired to Singapore after the failed probe on Koepang. Certainly near enough to India... I suspect India is his plan. Either Akyab or Ceylon, I imagine, it'd be suicide to land near Calcutta with almost the entire British military based there. Ceylon is the soft spot but he may not realise that, minus the British carriers. If he goes for Ceylon the heavy bombers will relocate to Bangalore which is now all ready and usable, HQ, av support and all, and bomb the hell out of him from there. If he goes for Akyab, well, they wont have to move to bomb the hell out of him. [:D]
Ceylon has a single UK division and gets a reinforcement Bde fairly soon, in a few weeks. Akyab has most of the Burma refugees, in theory a lot of units, in practice they are all malarial and still dented from earlier battles. Calcutta... well, Calcutta has a lot. He'll need some major forces to take that place. I would have thought I'd have noticed if he had such massive amounts of shipping in the area with my subs on the prowl and the aircraft searching, so I dont think he has such an audacious plan in mind.
Suffice to say it is now the 25th June, 1942. Not a great deal has happened of import since the last post. The damaged British battleships have slipped away from Koepang unmolested by the submarines he had put in their path thanks to a combination of ASW and avoidance. Lunga is about to be reinforced with SeaBees and an HQ as mentioned above, they should be at the island tomorrow - the island has a port 2 now, slightly improved in readiness. Luganville is being developed fully I have decided as it cements my hold on Guadalcanal, its up to rating 4 airfield and 4 port, now.
In Burma I've airlifted one Chinese division from Myritkina and its going to Calcutta to be fixed. Interesting to see how long that takes. I'm in the process of airlifting another one to do likewise. We'll have to see how long they take to fix but I'd like to freshen all my Chinese units there and then maybe consider an offensive in Burma with them, as his units are presumably exhausted from malaria and their failed offensive into India, months ago, which presumably the malaria has kept him from recovering from.
There is a feeling of tenseness in the air. The Supreme Commander is convinced the Japs are up to something. Its been a whole week now with barely a single bomb landing on an Allied base. Ships have been spotted at Rangoon but with no identification at all - the Supreme Commander thinks he has designs on India. Which is a little puzzling as my submarine pickets picked up nothing at all. He could have gone up the west side of Sumatra I suppose and avoided them - or maybe its just a small force which slipped past? Who knows.
The S.C. believes his carriers retired to Singapore after the failed probe on Koepang. Certainly near enough to India... I suspect India is his plan. Either Akyab or Ceylon, I imagine, it'd be suicide to land near Calcutta with almost the entire British military based there. Ceylon is the soft spot but he may not realise that, minus the British carriers. If he goes for Ceylon the heavy bombers will relocate to Bangalore which is now all ready and usable, HQ, av support and all, and bomb the hell out of him from there. If he goes for Akyab, well, they wont have to move to bomb the hell out of him. [:D]
Ceylon has a single UK division and gets a reinforcement Bde fairly soon, in a few weeks. Akyab has most of the Burma refugees, in theory a lot of units, in practice they are all malarial and still dented from earlier battles. Calcutta... well, Calcutta has a lot. He'll need some major forces to take that place. I would have thought I'd have noticed if he had such massive amounts of shipping in the area with my subs on the prowl and the aircraft searching, so I dont think he has such an audacious plan in mind.
RE: Lunga recaptured
...I ordered a port strike on Rangoon with all my heavy bombers, to see what there is to see and maybe disturb any loading he is doing. At night, as daylight raids in the face of Zeroes leads to unacceptably high losses. (Last time I did a daylight raid on the place almost every single a/c was damaged and they were being fixed for the best part of a month).
RE: Lunga recaptured
The S.C. believes his carriers retired to Singapore after the failed probe on Koepang. Certainly near enough to India... I suspect India is his plan. Either Akyab or Ceylon, I imagine, it'd be suicide to land near Calcutta with almost the entire British military based there. Ceylon is the soft spot but he may not realise that, minus the British carriers. If he goes for Ceylon the heavy bombers will relocate to Bangalore which is now all ready and usable, HQ, av support and all, and bomb the hell out of him from there. If he goes for Akyab, well, they wont have to move to bomb the hell out of him
PzB sent his invasion fleet towards the west edge of the map, went north, then went east to invade Karachi. What do you have in Karachi if your opponent tries the same thing?
Dave Baranyi
RE: Lunga recaptured
ORIGINAL: ADavidB
The S.C. believes his carriers retired to Singapore after the failed probe on Koepang. Certainly near enough to India... I suspect India is his plan. Either Akyab or Ceylon, I imagine, it'd be suicide to land near Calcutta with almost the entire British military based there. Ceylon is the soft spot but he may not realise that, minus the British carriers. If he goes for Ceylon the heavy bombers will relocate to Bangalore which is now all ready and usable, HQ, av support and all, and bomb the hell out of him from there. If he goes for Akyab, well, they wont have to move to bomb the hell out of him
PzB sent his invasion fleet towards the west edge of the map, went north, then went east to invade Karachi. What do you have in Karachi if your opponent tries the same thing?
Dave Baranyi
Nothin.
Good point though... I think I'll have to put some AKs around the western edge of the map to act as pickets.
Thing is even if I did garrison Karachi I could only do it with 1 division at best, and thats not really going to stop him... I get three Chindit Bdes over the next month and the first arrives in 5 days, I'll leave those in Karachi when they show.
I doubt he's doing that mind, given there is activity over Rangoon and mysterious TFs appearing between Ceylon and Calcutta. My money is on Akyab at the moment.
RE: Lunga recaptured
Nothin.
Good point though... I think I'll have to put some AKs around the western edge of the map to act as pickets.
Thing is even if I did garrison Karachi I could only do it with 1 division at best, and thats not really going to stop him... I get three Chindit Bdes over the next month and the first arrives in 5 days, I'll leave those in Karachi when they show.
I doubt he's doing that mind, given there is activity over Rangoon and mysterious TFs appearing between Ceylon and Calcutta. My money is on Akyab at the moment.
Ugh - that gives me the shudders...If your opponent grabs Karachi you can kiss goodbye your reinforcements. He can then pickup the rest of India at his leisure.
What do you have in Bombay? That's the second place I would go for as the Japanese player - it has a size 9 port and can re-arm all the Japanese ships. Between Karachi and Bombay a Japanese player would have enough to start an unstoppable campaign.
You had better hope that he goes for Alkyb - that's the "end of the earth" as far as getting supplies and troops in and out.
Good luck -
Dave Baranyi