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2. He has brought EVERYTHING. Add at least two more American ID to the ground forces as well as smaller Inf units (Marine Def Bn for example and TK units). I think what Dan is trying to do is somewhat gamey of where he sends abunch of Invasion Forces to various targets, begins landing, sees what is there, and then decides to bring in more or not. Important note: Nearly everything is not prepped whatsoever! He has landed a full Inf Div at Sibolga and they have an Assault Value of ZERO. That won't last long though. Am holding fairly well along the east coast where I still have Langsha, Medan, and Tand???. Problem is that Tand??? has got lots of HQ and Support units but next to no infantry.

From your perspective this has to be incredibly frustrating, but it is quite late and your defenses here were simply not ready.

Raider forces and small units sent to assess what you have is perfectly acceptable. I know you're in the heat of the battle here, but you know Dan well and there is nothing he's doing here that is even close to being an unfair use of his forces. If those small units can take the base so his unprepped forces can move in I'd call that a brilliant move. If you had a brigade on each of those outer Sumatra bases with forts 5-6 then you wouldn't be having this issue. You'd love those small units getting wiped out as they land.

This is all looking quite bad, but I admire your pluck for the fortitude you're showing to get after him here. Make sure you hold nothing back. This is the decisive battle. If he gains the foothold and keeps it your oil is gone. If you push him out he is hurting badly. This is all or nothing. Good luck!

IMO He knows you'll soon retake back some bases in Malasya and east cost of Sumatra so he is developing other bases more difficoult to retake 'cause they're islands and you're forced to landings, so huge time to preparing. When developed, and allies has a lot of engineers, he can mount an air offensive vs. your main oilfields.
Your opponent is a very good one, you're facing a great challenge here!
IMO you can bring here more airpower from other theathers for some weeks, I don't think he is ready for another push before moving back his CVs. By the way, where are his CVs? I couldn't see them in your last pics.
Let's hit hard John!! [;)]

ORIGINAL: obvert

2. He has brought EVERYTHING. Add at least two more American ID to the ground forces as well as smaller Inf units (Marine Def Bn for example and TK units). I think what Dan is trying to do is somewhat gamey of where he sends abunch of Invasion Forces to various targets, begins landing, sees what is there, and then decides to bring in more or not. Important note: Nearly everything is not prepped whatsoever! He has landed a full Inf Div at Sibolga and they have an Assault Value of ZERO. That won't last long though. Am holding fairly well along the east coast where I still have Langsha, Medan, and Tand???. Problem is that Tand??? has got lots of HQ and Support units but next to no infantry.

From your perspective this has to be incredibly frustrating, but it is quite late and your defenses here were simply not ready.

Raider forces and small units sent to assess what you have is perfectly acceptable. I know you're in the heat of the battle here, but you know Dan well and there is nothing he's doing here that is even close to being an unfair use of his forces. If those small units can take the base so his unprepped forces can move in I'd call that a brilliant move. If you had a brigade on each of those outer Sumatra bases with forts 5-6 then you wouldn't be having this issue. You'd love those small units getting wiped out as they land.

This is all looking quite bad, but I admire your pluck for the fortitude you're showing to get after him here. Make sure you hold nothing back. This is the decisive battle. If he gains the foothold and keeps it your oil is gone. If you push him out he is hurting badly. This is all or nothing. Good luck!

Completely agree with Obvert,
Don't hesitate bring everything here,
Even if this costs you some useless islands in South Pacific it is worth of. Here is vital, elsewhere not.
Good fight, I'm optimistic [:)]

ORIGINAL: John 3rd

2. He has brought EVERYTHING. Add at least two more American ID to the ground forces as well as smaller Inf units (Marine Def Bn for example and TK units). I think what Dan is trying to do is somewhat gamey of where he sends abunch of Invasion Forces to various targets, begins landing, sees what is there, and then decides to bring in more or not.

Gamey?

Didn't you just employ para fragments to capture Lord Howe Is. and Norfolk Is.?

ORIGINAL: John 3rd
Got to thinking that there are THREE Raiding Regiments in Burma currently. Perhaps some nicely done parachute troops might cause a bit of chaos in the Rear of the Allies???

And did you consider to drop whole regiments to cause chaos in Assam?

ORIGINAL: Capt. Harlock

Re: Paladin

I keep seeing JFBs saying "this is a war winner for the AFBs" but I have to ask, what if this is a massive recon-in-force, aimed at hitting with enough power that you're forced to respond, but is not actually his main thrust?

I mean, what forces have you ACTUALLY seen land?

Sumatra
ALLIED LANDINGS:
THIRTEEN TF land at Sabang this turn. Major units: SW Pacific HQ, 27th ID, 18th Brit ID, and 1st Marine Div. Numerous Base Forces and Engineers.

If he has committed Engineers and Base Forces, this ain't no feint.

I actually agree with you that this isn't a feint, in the traditional sense. What I suspect is that there's another invasion planned to go active somewhere, such as NG, once the KB is committed to this Sumatra invasion. After all, the key to a successful Allied war is to keep the JFB from being able to stockpile his fuel reserves and preserve the KB.

By landing at Sumatra like he's done, Dan has actually created a serious threat to Japan's fuel supply, which the KB must respond too. If he also has another invasion planned elsewhere, he forces John into the position of deciding to either try to repel that second invasion with SCTF and LBA, or to split the KB to deal with the threat. Splitting the KB is a sure way to lose part of it, so John's forced to defend with SCTFs and LBA, which may not be enough to stop a force from making it to the beach.

In other words, I expect to hear any time now that the NG "feint" was a real invasion force after all and is headed for PM.

Splitting the KB is a sure way to lose part of it, so John's forced to defend with SCTFs and LBA, which may not be enough to stop a force from making it to the beach.

In other words, I expect to hear any time now that the NG "feint" was a real invasion force after all and is headed for PM.

If my reading of the forces available in November 1942 is correct, the Allies simply do not have enough left over for a sustainable landing in New Guinea. True, they might get past the LBA after taking losses, but they could not deliver the necessary reinforcements to hold out against an IJA counter-thrust.

ORIGINAL: MrBlizzard

IMO He knows you'll soon retake back some bases in Malasya and east cost of Sumatra so he is developing other bases more difficoult to retake 'cause they're islands and you're forced to landings, so huge time to preparing. When developed, and allies has a lot of engineers, he can mount an air offensive vs. your main oilfields.
Your opponent is a very good one, you're facing a great challenge here!
IMO you can bring here more airpower from other theathers for some weeks, I don't think he is ready for another push before moving back his CVs. By the way, where are his CVs? I couldn't see them in your last pics.
Let's hit hard John!! [;)]

I am strongly considering taking those islands back on the west coast of Sumatra FIRST. Might truly surprise him.

ORIGINAL: Kereguelen

ORIGINAL: John 3rd

2. He has brought EVERYTHING. Add at least two more American ID to the ground forces as well as smaller Inf units (Marine Def Bn for example and TK units). I think what Dan is trying to do is somewhat gamey of where he sends abunch of Invasion Forces to various targets, begins landing, sees what is there, and then decides to bring in more or not.

Gamey?

Didn't you just employ para fragments to capture Lord Howe Is. and Norfolk Is.?

ORIGINAL: John 3rd
Got to thinking that there are THREE Raiding Regiments in Burma currently. Perhaps some nicely done parachute troops might cause a bit of chaos in the Rear of the Allies???

And did you consider to drop whole regiments to cause chaos in Assam?

Guilty! I stand completely corrected on this point.
[&o]

ORIGINAL: Capt. Harlock

Splitting the KB is a sure way to lose part of it, so John's forced to defend with SCTFs and LBA, which may not be enough to stop a force from making it to the beach.

In other words, I expect to hear any time now that the NG "feint" was a real invasion force after all and is headed for PM.

If my reading of the forces available in November 1942 is correct, the Allies simply do not have enough left over for a sustainable landing in New Guinea. True, they might get past the LBA after taking losses, but they could not deliver the necessary reinforcements to hold out against an IJA counter-thrust.

Identified Units:
Sumatra: 3 US ID, 18th Brit ID, and 1st marine Div plus lots of smaller CD, Defence Bn, and TK units.
Burma: 6th and 7th Aussie ID, 41st US ID, and a number of TK Marine and US Army TK units.

What else is LEFT??

If he does come up towards New Guinea he will get one heck of a bloody nose! I've moved but not EVERYTHING. There are still some...shall I say...suprises...

Home for a few minutes. Worked 6am-4pm and am headed back for another couple of hours. Turn to be done at that point.

On the subject of the Paras, I have three full strength Raiding Units (AV 40 or so) that can be used. Options:
1. Drop them in Eastern India as was the original pan to cause chaos and make HIM REACT.
2. Use them to take back the western bases and island bases that he is grabbing with just Base Forces and Engineer units.

Thoughts? BETTER Ideas???

What would drops in India gain you if he's feeding Sumatra via sea routes? Nothing more than a minor irritation to Dan IMHO. Maybe using them at Siberoet (or whatever that island's name is that can grow to a sizeable air field) makes sense. Just keep your eye on the prize: preserve your LOCs in SE Asia and drive Dan out of Sumatra if you can. Think a week or two or four down the road and where you'd like to be then, then pick the route that maximizes your chances of getting there. You wield a rapier, not an axe. Use it as it was intended.

Best regards, Paul

Yep, no point in wasting paras on India.

What does he has left in Australia and more importantly, what do you have there?

Thoughts? BETTER Ideas???

Protect rail line!

If it doesn't help your position in Sumatra why do it? Ceylon is key to resupply in Sumatra.... Sumatra is key to bases in Sumatra.... why consider para drops in India? Don't ask yourself what would cause trouble, ask yourself what will cause CR to worry about Sumatra. I think a para attack in India would make him breathe a sigh of relief that you haven't used them anywhere he cares about.

I could also have said +1 to pws1225 and BigBadWolf but hey....

ORIGINAL: John 3rd

Thoughts? BETTER Ideas???

Assume you lose Medan. Assume, worst case, you lose PBang, or it's wrecked in the fighting. What is your fuel budget on 6/1/43?

You have a sucking chest wound and you're talking about acne treatments.

Protect rail line!

Mr. Dillworth can read a map!

You have a sucking chest wound and you're talking about acne treatments.

Mr. Moose can read a game!

I'm a weirdo. THis is an opportunity to take at least one Marine ID and one Brit ID out of the game for a long time. Marine replacement rates means about a year, Brit replacements maybe 2 years or more.

I would look at what I would trade to 'kill' these units, and that is a long list. PM, NG, solomons ... pfft. No question, YES. KB? No. Marshalls? yes. Kuriles? No. Burma? Yes. Malay/Thai? No. +2000 LBA ac? Yes. You need to finish this list, but I think you see where I'm going. I can scare up +6 ID's at least ... and a lot of support forces.

Now I know what units I can pull and bring here, and I know that I can bring far more than he can in Nov 42. Bring it all. No half measures here. The BIG hammer.

Your goals:
1. Annihilate the LCU's he has committed. No survivors. I want those units off the board for a long time.
2. See if he will commit his CV's into LBA range to attempt to extract any of these units. If he does, I want to greet him with +1000LBA attack BEFORE the KB joins in.

As someone else noted above, I'd have every single xAP and xAK hauling every unit I can find to this fight from all the locations above I said "YES" to. He's offering up enough troops for me to give up those other areas if I have to. Allied replacements are free, but they are limited. I can curtail his 'feistiness' in '43 right now as he won't have enough LCU's until '44. And maybe he will get desparate in the face of losses to make a mistake and commit his CV's. Not likely, but battles are won and lost on little mistakes ...

Home for a few minutes. Worked 6am-4pm and am headed back for another couple of hours. Turn to be done at that point.

Hey John, no worries about flipping turns at this juncture. Take your time. Consider ALL your options. Seek wise counsel. A weekend in the mountains might bring inspiration on how to react to Dan's aggression. Turns flipped after a gazillion hours at work would not be good. All us dweebs out here watching can wait, as can Dan. In fact, if you call a temporary pause in turn flipping to consider your options, think how the Southern Gentleman from Georgia will respond. He'll just go hiking/camping in Georgia hill country, get poison ivy on his butt from sitting on a log, and be totally distracted in the subsequant turns. Think about it as an application of Nemo's meta-game ideas. Instead of getting into Dan's head, you can get into his butt.

Best regards, Paul

This battle looks like it may take a while. If you can spare the units I would land on the Great Nicobar Island and get an airbase going. That will cause him to react to you.

Not a game changer but something he has to consider - and a window into the open Ocean.