Matrix Games Forums

Not totally true. The P39 and the SBD will not reach efate. XJ, if u want to win the game do not go defensive, u must now take Noumea at all cost.

Not possible, an attack on Noumea would cost him all. To many Allied reinforcements have come in the game.

I do hope he try though..

XJ will lose it all anyway if he does not take Noumea.  His troops at lunganville and Efate are ducks in a shooting barrel if Noumae is not taken.  Does XJ have the killer instinct?

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]

Here is another Public Information Broadcast by Radio Tokyo

Praise be to his most Divine Majesty The Emperor! Our forces have liberated Wau in Papau New Guinea. The surviving Australian troops are retreating in some confusion back to the phyrric safety of Port Morseby. O this is a most wonderful and beautiful day! The South Sea detatchment, aided by elements of the 65th Brigade and Yakazawa regiment, have served the Emperor well!
Rest assured that the sunburst emblem is flying over the South East Asian Great Prosperity Sphere!

Or I could even gather everything together and try to take Noumea.

Good fighting talk, Ike,  but with what actually do you intend to fight with?? Your army seems to be having some kind of extended beach holiday up at Leikar and good luck to them!

Here is another officially sanctioned broadcast from Radio Tokyo :

Praise be to His most wonderful divine Majesty! Our liberation troops have reached the island of Noumea! Today our crack 17th army began landing at the southern tip and quickly took the big American airbase at Goro. Elsewhere our gallant navy, in a series of brilliant manouevers and strategies designed to outwit the crude Imperialist Americans, have been carrying running battles to the north of Noumea for the past week or so, and have destroyed or damaged several destroyers and light cruisers. All these encounters have taken place at night, and it is quite obvious that the unimaginative Americans have no answer to our most dreaded Long Lance torpedos. Other battle groups have been dashing in and bombarding the airfields just up the coast at Noumea town itself, destroying or damaging many American and New Zealand planes on the ground.
We can only hope and pray that our brave and dedicated troops, worthy servants of His Divine Majesty, will soon liberate this island from the stain of decadant western Imperalism

I always, always, always...

always

wished to sink a fleet carrier with surface ships.

XJ has run into some difficulties in his conquest of Noumea. Me. [:D]

Yes, I have run into two problems.  One is how your surface forces managed to get around my heavy surface screens covering the carriers without being noticed (I had four separate ones there)
2nd concerns the land forces already landed around Goro which I can not move!  [:@]  They either ignore my instructions to march to Noumea or else tell me 'not allowed'!!

Someone is having a good time...

Not me - same problem as before!  [:@]  Loads of troops at the base (Goro this time) and ships docked up & nobody will move.  Can't undock the ships nor even fly CAP any longer from the carriers docked there.
 
I've just sent in an Email to matrix customer support to see what they make of it

XJ, if u want to win the game do not go defensive, u must now take Noumea at all cost.

Bigred played the part of Muleskinner. [:D]

If you go..

Down There

Great movie.

I haven´t heard from XJ in about a week. I wait another week to see what he wants to do but if I haven´t heard something by then I´m claiming victory.

Still waiting to hear back from Matrix - I'll send them a reminder but right now all my forces at Goro are paralysed which is what happened before with my game with BB when everything I sent to Lunga got stuck there :(

Still waiting to hear back from Matrix - I'll send them a reminder but right now all my forces at Goro are paralysed which is what happened before with my game with BB when everything I sent to Lunga got stuck there

There is no support for this game.

I've now heard back from them.  They admit it is a bug but it should be ironed out by version 2.50 - I'm only on 2.30 and have tried several time unsuccessfully to upgrade to 2.50!
Basically what happens is that the AI can get overloaded when too much is concentrated in one area/base particularly when it is active and not 'at rest'.  When this happens everything associated with the base (including any naval forces docked iwth it) just switch off and go to sleep which is what has happened to me.  I can't move any of the naval forces away from it, attack with any planes on the carriers (or even fly them) or move the infantry units northward
 
What do you want to do?  Abandon the game,  go back a week or so before I landed anything at Goro or what?

What do you want to do? Abandon the game, go back a week or so before I landed anything at Goro or what?

I abandon the game.

Fair enough - we seem to have met an insurmountable bug. Thanx 4 playing 4 as long as you did, it was a very interesting battle/campaign

And also a big Thanx, Matrix!  [:@]

sorry to see you had to quit that game & AAR[:(]


what´s wrong in particular with upgrading to 2.50 patch ?