Now just a second, steady on everyone!
My original strategy, after managing to draw Yorktown out and fatally wounding her (Lexington hasn't been seen for some time, but I doubt she was sunk) was to keep Ike's eyes occupied in NG with a big shooting match at Wau & the Shokaku parading up & down just east of Buna inviting an attack (if I'd really wanted to take PM quickly I would have either sent in a big convoy round via Gili Gili or else gone in at Buna, which is what happened historically & a lot closer) whilst I sent in a big eastern hook through the gap between Irau & Nevea.
I had a big invasion force - the 17th army & two crack divisions (2nd & 38th) to take Luganville, but the real plan was to attack something he didn't want me to have & be forced to defend it with every resource that he had, hopefully his remaining carriers. Then, with my transports apparently 'sprung', my own carriers which had been lurking to the rear could deliver a telling strike out of range of retaliation. Didn't quite work out that way - my carriers got far too close, but other than that it was totally successful. Also plenty of propganda on the Forums ensured that Ike would come out or risk 'loss of face'.
Hornet, Big E & his little CVE all sunk + a couple of destroyers, some smaller craft & a few transports also on the bottom not to mention a few US subs (which have probably been the biggest headache of all).
With Luganville taken and my pilots having lots of target practice at his Dakota's which he was reinforcing the airstrip right up until it fell, he moved all of his remaining troops to Leikar then ran away from any further surface battles.
Had a think about what to do next, seeing as my star can't stay in the ascendancy for ever. Hung my transports around for a few days to see if I could draw him back out to hit them with his remaining cruisers, but he got wise & wouldn't take the bait. So I loaded up a few troops to take Efate which I've just done. I'm still hanging a few transports around to see if he'll attack, but he's learned his lesson & won't fall for it.
Overall though the grand plan worked - Yamamoto was right. The US needed to be substantially defeated in one big battle before they got too powerful, and their carriers destroyed or knocked out. This is what they tried & failed to do at Midway
What to do now? I hold both Luganville & Efate quite substantially, most of my forces are at the former but I can shuttle over & there are some reinforcements. I've had to set up some special sub-hunter-killer TF's which so far have been had some success, although so has he so that struggle is about 50-50. If I evacuate Efate, then his SBD's, P39's & Avengers can base there & gain a lot of target practice at my troops expense on Luganville. However Efate is within range of his medium-based bombers (B26's) from Noumea. His B17's can hit both anyway from Noumea & to be honest it is probably those that woudl do the most damage to the islands in the long-term. I dare not base anything at the airbases or he will just knock out the runways
I could evacuate both, & pull back to (say) Nevea or Irau where the troops will be safer from his long-range attacks. Or I could reinforce both. Or I could even gather everything together and try to take Noumea.
Or I could just continue to wind up Ike with more 'Ladio Luganville' broadcasts... [:D]
