The Power of Inexperience / GreyJoy(A)-Rader(J)

[Smeulders]

Congrats, this probably means the high water mark for the Japanese as he can't hope to bring a new big offensive going this late. You might still have a big fight ahead of you in India. In his other game Radar is still holding large parts of Russia, he might do the same here to keep the Commonwealth far away from his vitals. The troops in Cape Town and Aden will come in very useful if this scenario plays out.

[GreyJoy]

ORIGINAL: Smeulders

Congrats, this probably means the high water mark for the Japanese as he can't hope to bring a new big offensive going this late. You might still have a big fight ahead of you in India. In his other game Radar is still holding large parts of Russia, he might do the same here to keep the Commonwealth far away from his vitals. The troops in Cape Town and Aden will come in very useful if this scenario plays out.

Well, for sure the battle for India isn't over yet. And the battle to get it back is still to come but India is a different playground that USSR...plain terrain, lots of bases...lots of roads...of raillines...he had advanced so fast here using these weapons...once we'll be strong enough we'll be able to give him his own medicine...and, however, to defend India he will need a HUGE amount of forces...as soon as Multan will be back in Allied's hands...well the door will be open. Now the key will be Multan...will have to come up for a plan to get it back in 1943...

...but now i'm still tasting the sweet taste of victory...i feel like the brits after the winter 40-41...when it was clear that the battle of Britain was over and that an invasion was no more a possibility...

[crsutton]

Yes, it is getting to late for him to pull off any major operations now. It really becomes difficult for Japan as the year ends. You have your foot "stuck" in the Solomons door and I don't think he will be able to throw you out. Nor will he venture to OZ as your tanks forces are full of good tanks by now and can hurt him. If he does hit Oz, he won't go far.

Canoe is right. You preserved your carriers and that is a serious deterrent to any adventures he might have that require a fleet. Frankly, you will want to take India back but I would gladly take your position over his right now.

[GreyJoy]

ORIGINAL: crsutton

Yes, it is getting to late for him to pull off any major operations now. It really becomes difficult for Japan as the year ends. You have your foot "stuck" in the Solomons door and I don't think he will be able to throw you out. Nor will he venture to OZ as your tanks forces are full of good tanks by now and can hurt him. If he does hit Oz, he won't go far.

Canoe is right. You preserved your carriers and that is a serious deterrent to any adventures he might have that require a fleet. Frankly, you will want to take India back but I would gladly take your position over his right now.

Yes, now my priority must be to first preserve my carriers and keep them on being a deterrent (which grows bigger every day we get close to the "Hellcat Era").
At the same time i need to keep up the pressure on different fronts. His positions in India are overextended and if it's true that i'm in the corner and there are only two ways out (the "Multan way" or a counter nava invasion), at the same time he cannot hope to cover and garrison every single base in his overextended perimeter (from Scoodra to Diego, from Bombay to Port Blair, From Sumatra to Java, Timor, NG and the Solomons, Mariannas and the Kuriles...) even with all those good divs he gets in Scen2.
I think i need to remain calm and proceed with the main plan: sending tanks and mobile forces to UK in order to be ready to get to Aden with june 43 (then from here we'll be able to choose, depending on the overall situtation, if it's better to move to Karachi and then march to Multan or to counterinvade), building up the solomons and slowly advance (Munda, Shortland etc) keeping his attention here, and, last but not least, start building NW OZ (Geralton, Exmouth etc...) so to drain more japanese resources in the defence of southern DEI.
Our navy, in the meantime, will be upgrading, reinforcing, training...we'll stay beyond our main line and be ready for a mistake of his.... No crazy adventures. No risky plans.

remain focused on the main objective: win the war

[witpqs]

Good for you! I kinda figured there was no supply-reason for him to go around instead of straight on. If he is using the railway to move back to the Calcutta area then those units would move toward the east (IRL North) first before heading south (IRL East).

[GreyJoy]

ORIGINAL: witpqs

Good for you! I kinda figured there was no supply-reason for him to go around instead of straight on. If he is using the railway to move back to the Calcutta area then those units would move toward the east (IRL North) first before heading south (IRL East).

I do think he won't retreat en masse. Pretty sure he'll leave first a screen of fragmented units, so that my recon will only show up the "number" (say 100 units at Jodpur)...i'm also sure he'll leave behind lots of engineers and base forces and lots of planes...these guys will cover the retreat of his divisions and will dissimulate their absence. he cannot let my 4Es close his main AFs so he'll build up Multan with 9 forts and 9 AF lvl...will keep 500 fighters or something like that that will keep on bleeding me while the bulk of his armies will move back.
it's ok for me as long as i can start to think "offensively". Maybe his BBs are already moving towards Truk...but my 4Es will eventually grow in number and in few months i'll be able to crush his Jodpur base...

God i feel good[:D]

[Miller]

Congratulations on weathering the storm. There was no way he could sustain those losses in the air any longer.

Its still a long, hard road back for you, but you have plenty of time.

[GreyJoy]

ORIGINAL: Miller

Congratulations on weathering the storm. There was no way he could sustain those losses in the air any longer.

Its still a long, hard road back for you, but you have plenty of time.

Thanks!
However i think the key wasn't his ability to sustain the loss rate (he still has 800 fighters at Jodpur and more 300 in the Solomons) but the allies' ability to remain an active air fighting force despite all his efforts, so to say his inability to complete shut down my airfields and to obtain a complete air supremacy over Karachi.
If the Karachi air space was already his when he crossed the LOD i could not have been able to send those 160 supplies and all those reinforcements form Aden....

[JohnDillworth]

Quick question: Whats the score?

[GreyJoy]

JAPAN: 39500
ALLIES: 15200

[GreyJoy]

Rader's vacation is keeping him away from any pc...no turns till Sunday...[:o]....will climb on walls waiting for his return

[WLockard]

New house rule, Rader gets no more vacation until this game is finished.

[GreyJoy]

Ok, we're finally back in business!! [:D]
 
Nov 16, 17 1942
 
The KB moved west again, positioning herself north of Suva and east of Ndani (south east of Lunga).
Intel says the 18th and the 4th divisions are moving to Guam, while a mixed Regiment is prepping for Lunga...do i have to wait a counterattack in the Solomons?[X(]
 
Anyway, i took my precautions. All my ships are moving back from the front line in the Solomons where the KB could pop up...he must be burning a hell out of fuel during these raiding trips...not sure if it's a good choice for him.
However it's clear that now he's fully focused on the SOPAC...good. I'll be reinforcing Pago Pago and Wallis Island, along with Ndani...i wanna have a secure chain between Christmas Island and Lunga...
 
Today 360 Tojos swept Karachi, killing 10 of my planes for the loss of only 6 Tojos...[:(]
 
Still 106 units at Jodpur and 85 at Multan...it's not a mass-retreat, you can all be sure of that!
 
The next weeks will tell us what he wanna do with the Solomons...will he counterattack?...holding my breath....
 
 
Today 360 Tojos sw

[GreyJoy]

Nov 18, 19 1942

A quiet turn.
The KB moved back north of Tarawa, out of my sight, while the shipping activity around Rabaul reaches it's climax. Ships every day brings reinforcements to Buka, while Rabaul is full of ships. More than 300 japanese planes are identified in the area, along with the CVL Soho.


At Karachi Japan sent again 360 Tojos and again my losses are higher than his even if light (6 against 4).
We managed to unload 20k of supplies at Karachi and the supply level remain constant despite the constant use of 100 4Es. Today they attacked Badowhatever (the base north of Surat), closing the AF and destroying 6 Rufes on the ground.
Tomorrow we'll attack Surat and probably we'll shift to Bombay soon. I stopped to keep on bombing Multan with all the AA present there...better to be less predictable and change our objectives every now and then...
Japanese DDs again moved in the position that will enable them to reach Karachi tomorrow night. I won't give em the fight they're looking for. My DDs have been moved far away north[8D]. Cat & Mouse, Cat & Mouse.

I've taken a deep look at my position in the Solomons. I think we're pretty safe...don't see how he can committ a large counterinvasion force within the next month. However i'll keep on sending reinforcements and supplies to the area...just in case.

My CVs are slowly moving towards Noumea, passing far south, out of his ability to surprise me. I wanna have them at hand if he really tries some kind of counterattack

[GreyJoy]

Ok so, after the latest evidences about presumtive Rader's will not to take Karachi, i can confirm that 1 U.S. Division, 2 US RCT, 3 U.S. Tank Bns, 3 tank destroyer BNs., 3 U.S. AA units and 3 Artillery Units are enroute towards the U.K..

As soon as the Med opens, these guys will reach, along with 5 Australian Tank companies, Aden and will join with the XX Indian Corp which is actually composed by 2 Indian Divisions and 1 Indian Armoured Division. This force will be used in two ways, depending on how the situation will be in june 43: a counterlanding at Surat or a landing at Karachi and a subsequent advance towards Multan.

[WLockard]

You should also consider retaking Scrodra - it would really open up your possibilities.

[GreyJoy]

Yes, i'm thinking about it...however Scoodra is heavily fortified and defended (an Army HQ and a Regiment there for sure)...so it won't be a walk in the park...gotta think about it...


Nov 20, 21 1942

The KB springs up again 8 hexes north of Lunga.
Rader puts in practice what's a usual scheme: first 150 fighters swept Lunga from Rabaul, softening my defences, then the KB attacked Lunga AF destroying 26 planes on the ground. However we did respond this time and my 100 fighters of the Cactus Air Force managed to shoot down 110 enemy a/c, losing "only" 40...

Overall score in these 2 days is 140 for him and 80 for me...but only 16 pilots lost...which is not bad.

KB sank 4 Aks and 2 DMSs near Tulagi...

It's clear now that Rader wants to counterinvade. the 4th Div and the 4th Guards Div are prepping for Lunga and all these actions by the KB may only mean that he wants to deny me the chance of reinforcing it...it's gonna be fun!

Some skermishes over Karachi but nothing serious...

My CVs are getting close to Pago Pago along with my main surface fleet.

He cannot sustain to attack Lunga any longer i guess...too many a/c lost and he must be running out of fuel and sorties by now...

[GreyJoy]

Here's the air losses report of the last turn...

as you can see, despite having 4 heavu flak units at Lunga, my guys didn't score a single AA hit on the enemies...pretty strange indeed[&:]

[GreyJoy]

.

[GreyJoy]

Based on what i can see i'm expecting that in the next 1 or 2 months we're have a clash of Titans in the Solomons...both armies are going to clash around Munda and Shortlands...

Gotta say that in this scenario i thank God to have exploited very fast the conquest of Lunga...with 2000 AVs between my main 3 bases he's gonna have a really harsh time if he wants to counterland there...