ORIGINAL: BrucePowers
Niceguy;
I as wondering how some of these players seem to take India, China, the DEI, New Caledonia, Midway, etc. I know we have talked about a lot of IJN shipping. I don't see how you can be strong in all of these areas at once. Is it a result of a fall back strategy without a stiff defense, ie run and try to come back later?
Bruce
Bruce, I'm not really sure how things played out exactly the way that they did in my game. Graycompany did not press the Allies much in the South Pacific, at least not compared to some other players. He did try to take Canton and Luganville and I barely fought him off in both instances, but his invading forces were not overwhelming. His game was focused more on India, China and the DEI. Also, my strong defence throughout the DEI may have forced him to shift some resources out of the South Pacific.
I suspect that Graycompany may be thinking he would rather preserve his units for a very strong defense rather than spend them on offense. I suspect the Solomons and NG are a fortress, as is Wake. 1943 is going to be a very bloody year for the Allies.
One tactic I used was to fight basically a guerilla war. I never committed a capital ship, but there was a DD squadron or PT boat and lots of subs at every invasion he tried. I also didn't hesitate to through air power at him, regardless of allied losses. Lastly I used air transport a lot, I tried to stay somewhat mobile. In his campaign to take Canton, where I only had a base force and artillery unit and a marine defence battalion, I used sea planes to air lift in elements of the 1st USMC division. In total I transported about half the division in a week and that was all that was needed to secure Canton.
Graycompany seems to be very deliberate in his offensive actions. He chooses his targets carefully, but when he goes for it he goes with a determined amount of force and with a well organized plan. His invasion of Malaya was brilliant. I had a well thought out defence that called for a fighting retreat down the penninsula, but he managed to execute a surprise invasion that cut off half my force from reaching Sing. I think Sing fell before the end of January.
Did I ever answer your question? [:D]