Empire strikes back- NJP vs Wargmr Game over :-)

[njp72]

Quick update- 10th May 42

Key points

- Singapore has proven stubborn but will likely fall in the next day or two. This will release equivalent of 7 divs but where to send them?
Options include India, Australia or commence the mop up in the PIs.

- Oz largely isolated. Resistance has stiffened and he has used B-17es effectively against my ground units. Tasmania has also been difficult but Hobart should fall in the next month.

- India- forces have halted before Calcutta and digging in. Lack the combat power to push through.

- Chungking now completely cut off. Very happy with China

Everywhere else has been very quiet. No sighting of any of his warships but sig traffic has been massive around Pearl, San Fran and near Alaska. I have commenced fortifying the Kuriles but without adequate BB cover he will have a hard time undertaking amphib ops anywhere


A quiet period in the game as I consolidate and look at the scoreboard. Wargmr is playing it very smart but I still think he will need to do something quite ambitious to avoid AV.

I think I will sit quietly and start digging in for a while.

[ny59giants]

Where to go??

1) I would say some have to go to India. Since he has those Emergency Reinforcements to use plus the normal troop levels. You need to protect any economic gains you have around Calcutta for as long as possible.

2) Some will need for mop up in Philippines and DEI that hasn't been done yet.

3) Double check within Empire for BFs and construction engineers that you can use PPs to buy out and move to where needed. Time to set up any AA traps you can.

[njp72]

Thanks Mike, I concur with your assessment.

I will send the majority to the Indian/Burma border and keep 2 divs for mop up operations for PI and DEI.

I will also send a few inf regts to Perth to ensure there is something there in case he attempts to flank me.

I don't think he will get up to much in this next couple of months, which should give me time to start fortifying a couple of positions.

Probably a good time to rest KB after 5 months of constant operations- need those radars in June as well.

ORIGINAL: ny59giants

Where to go??

1) I would say some have to go to India. Since he has those Emergency Reinforcements to use plus the normal troop levels. You need to protect any economic gains you have around Calcutta for as long as possible.

2) Some will need for mop up in Philippines and DEI that hasn't been done yet.

3) Double check within Empire for BFs and construction engineers that you can use PPs to buy out and move to where needed. Time to set up any AA traps you can.

[ny59giants]

Wolfpack time!! I like to send one Glen equipped sub with 3 to 4 fleet subs into possible shipping lanes. You need to find how he is adjusting to your gains to see where he may come from. I don't like it, but you can see enemy expansion efforts in the Ops Report. Check for base expansions and send subs accordingly.

[njp72]

On to it Mike. I will post a map in the next few days to show my hunting grounds. Unfortunately we are not getting much because I don't think he is moving anything!

I believe his entire navy and merchant fleet are docked around Pearl Harbour and the east coast of the US.

If I was a deep thinker or had a semblance of intelligence that would probably cause me some concern- which of course it doesn't. [:D]

ORIGINAL: ny59giants

Wolfpack time!! I like to send one Glen equipped sub with 3 to 4 fleet subs into possible shipping lanes. You need to find how he is adjusting to your gains to see where he may come from. I don't like it, but you can see enemy expansion efforts in the Ops Report. Check for base expansions and send subs accordingly.

[njp72]

Update June 42

Apologies difficult to maintain updates with the usual goings on with life.

Big news is Singapore has finally fallen- lasted another 3 weeks than I planned. Wargmr had a very good defence and it took me 7+ divisions to smash it down.

Once again AV now looks like a possibility, particularly with the current status of China and I haven't touched the PIs yet.

I suspect he is going to come out hard in the next couple of months. Most likely in Oz or India to recapture territory and gain points.

[njp72]

PIs- largely untouched here and full of juicy VPs.

Will start to get serious here in the next couple of months. No rush, they are not going anywhere and I'm certain he won't try to reinforce.

I wish he would though [:D]

[njp72]

China

The most important theatre and where the war is either going to be won or lost in the next 6 months.

I have him on the ropes here and need to finish him off before Dec42 to win.

[njp72]

Oz

This theatre fills me with a sense of dread and optimism. He has a lot of combat power in Melbourne and Sydney which scares me but the troops are inexperienced and he is struggling with fighter numbers.

Hobart has been a thorn in my side but with 15K of troops stuck there they present a juicy target.[:)]

[njp72]

India

This theatre fills me with dread. Wargmr has undertaken a fair bit of recon and knows I'm light on the ground. Obviously with the fall of Singapore we both know I am going to reinforce this sector, but still he could cause significant grief.

Again the lack of effective fighters appears to be the reason he is holding back. The Achilles heel of the Allied war effort in 42 does appear to be the lack of decent fighter aircraft!

[njp72]

Update Aug 42

Well I am still trying for AV but hopefully in a sensible fashion which does not cripple the war effort if I don't succeed.

I suspect I won't get there. Wargmr is too good and just not making any mistakes.

Nevertheless by getting close it is drawing out his fleet, ground and air units which is allowing me to attrite them. As long as I don't suffer any significant disaster (like last time) I should be able to keep him nervous for at least the remainder of 42.

[njp72]

Well if I am going to win it will be in two places and this is one of them.

The PI's largely untouched and full of juicy VPs and ground units. Just starting to get serious here and hope to have it knocked over by late 42.

Realistically there is no chance he will reinforce which is a pity

[njp72]

And of course this is the second theatre that offers great promise- China.

Pockets of starving Chinese cut off everywhere but an incredibly time consuming task of rooting them out of rough terrain.

The only thing that seems to speed up the process is using mass armour to overcome the stacking issues and abundant firepower.

Still they are going no where, and should be a simple equation of time and space.

[njp72]

This is one of the areas where he is counter attacking- central pacific.

It is a relatively safe option for him as he knows KB is roughly around India/Australia.

I am happy for him to be concentrating in this theatre but I have been disappointed by my sub effort. I haven't been able to hit any of his capital ships despite the swarm of subs.

I also think it is a partial ruse to draw my fleet out into nowhere and then hit me in India or Oz.

I won't be playing

[obvert]

ORIGINAL: njp72

India

This theatre fills me with dread. Wargmr has undertaken a fair bit of recon and knows I'm light on the ground. Obviously with the fall of Singapore we both know I am going to reinforce this sector, but still he could cause significant grief.

Again the lack of effective fighters appears to be the reason he is holding back. The Achilles heel of the Allied war effort in 42 does appear to be the lack of decent fighter aircraft!

Also the lack of experienced ground forces with sufficient replacements. The Indian army may look big through recon, but it's thin and not very capable. He's not going to take things back from you for a while. Just don't overextend here unless you plan to bring a lot more over. At east you've gotten the oil from Ledo as an economic benefit which could nearly pay for the supply used to get here.

ORIGINAL: njp72

This is one of the areas where he is counter attacking- central pacific.

It is a relatively safe option for him as he knows KB is roughly around India/Australia.

I am happy for him to be concentrating in this theatre but I have been disappointed by my sub effort. I haven't been able to hit any of his capital ships despite the swarm of subs.

I also think it is a partial ruse to draw my fleet out into nowhere and then hit me in India or Oz.

I won't be playing

I used to feel the same playing Japan. This area is actually pretty good for the Allies. It allows a staging area for further ops and makes you think about guarding the deep Cent Pac (Marianas) much earlier than you'd like to do. Don't underestimate the speed at which he'll move in late 43-44. Best to slow the early movement if possible, but I understand it's not so possible when you're all over OZ. [:D]

[njp72]

And here is the most frustrating battle of the war.

30+ thousand Dutch fortified in the mountains who have been fighting me to a standstill for two months.

Again the only solution is armour which is slowly working. A beautiful well thought out defence by Wargmr.

Don't they know they are beaten!!!!

[njp72]

Quite correct Obvert about Australia.

We have fought a series of battles which started off pretty well with the capture of Adelaide and Hobart but then I copped a fair pasting from his armour.

I have started to fall back to better defensive positions to hold him off for a another couple of months. I have no desire of being cut off and encircled.

[njp72]

The fighting around Ceylon is slowly staring to go my way in the air and sea.

In the last 3 weeks I believe I have sank 2 CAs and about 6 DDs- all Brit for the loss of 2 DDs.

I am also starting to overwhelm him in the air through sheer numbers against his hurricanes. It has been a little costly but I have no shortage of airframes and pilots.

[njp72]

You are spot on about the Central Pacific as I am a little light on for assets.

I'm trying to rely on subs, some land based air and small SAGs to hurt him with poor results thus far.

I got about 4 x decent APs a week ago but it cost me a CA. I'm trying to deliberately hunt his transports and avoid engagements with his warships.

I'm a lot stronger closer to Truk and Ponape.

I just have a sense he is planning for a deep strike somewhere and wants to lure me out into the vastness of the central pacific.

ORIGINAL: obvert

ORIGINAL: njp72

India

This theatre fills me with dread. Wargmr has undertaken a fair bit of recon and knows I'm light on the ground. Obviously with the fall of Singapore we both know I am going to reinforce this sector, but still he could cause significant grief.

Again the lack of effective fighters appears to be the reason he is holding back. The Achilles heel of the Allied war effort in 42 does appear to be the lack of decent fighter aircraft!

Also the lack of experienced ground forces with sufficient replacements. The Indian army may look big through recon, but it's thin and not very capable. He's not going to take things back from you for a while. Just don't overextend here unless you plan to bring a lot more over. At east you've gotten the oil from Ledo as an economic benefit which could nearly pay for the supply used to get here.

ORIGINAL: njp72

This is one of the areas where he is counter attacking- central pacific.

It is a relatively safe option for him as he knows KB is roughly around India/Australia.

I am happy for him to be concentrating in this theatre but I have been disappointed by my sub effort. I haven't been able to hit any of his capital ships despite the swarm of subs.

I also think it is a partial ruse to draw my fleet out into nowhere and then hit me in India or Oz.

I won't be playing

I used to feel the same playing Japan. This area is actually pretty good for the Allies. It allows a staging area for further ops and makes you think about guarding the deep Cent Pac (Marianas) much earlier than you'd like to do. Don't underestimate the speed at which he'll move in late 43-44. Best to slow the early movement if possible, but I understand it's not so possible when you're all over OZ. [:D]

[Sangeli]

In retrospect, how do you feel about your decisions to take Singapore and Java so late? My opinion is that those two areas should be taken ASAP as to free up the IJA for deeper ops. I also believe they can be taken with fewer forces if you move on them early. I realize your decision allowed you to move quickly in OZ and India but it seems that because you had many divisions still stuck in the SRA that your attacks didn't have enough firepower to achieve anything truly decisive as you were spread to thinly. Personally I believe this is going to make early 1943 a lot more painful for you than it otherwise could have been.