Seems like nemo's preferred play style is to use extreme concentrations of force at critical points on the map. He expects to offset his weakness elsewhere (a necessary consequence of his concentration), by striking at a point so critical to you that you have to counter-concentrate, which, in turn, renders the fact that he's weak everywhere else kind of irrelevant.
I think you're on the right track in that the way to defeat that kind of strategy is to scrape together enough force somewhere to hit him where he isn't. The risk though is that whatever you bring has to be "big enough" to get the job done. Otherwise you're just frittering away forces.
Likewise, my suspicion of his response to a java invasion using aussie troops would a main force invasion of se australia, so I'd be prepared for that.
Gutter War..Empires Ablaze 2ndAcr (allied) vs Nemo121 (IJN)
Moderators: wdolson, Don Bowen, mogami
RE: Gutter War..Empires Ablaze 2ndAcr (allied) vs Nemo121 (IJN)
I would almost welcome him to try for SE Aus. I am strongest there than anywhere else in Australia. Hence my shifting forces northward, one to protect the north, 2 to be ready to possibly hit Java.
RE: Gutter War..Empires Ablaze 2ndAcr (allied) vs Nemo121 (IJN)
2ndACR,
With the greatest respect, IMHO you completely misread Nemo121 and the strategic situation which confronts you. Rereading your recent posts and extrapolating from the data therein contained, together with my study of your opponents previous AARs, the following comments are offered.
1. You say you have reached April 1942. In WITP, spring comes to the Aleutians/Alaska on 1 March. That means you have already lost 1 valuable month of activity up north.
2. Nemo invades Cold Bay et al as a pre-emptive defensive measure. He uses only minimal forces and maintains only weak garrisons in the area throughout the first half of 1942. He moves into the area to accomplish two objectives:
(a) deprive the Allies of good bases with which to base PA/REC air which can monitor his northern naval movements and station naval forces which can interdict the direct Honshu/Hawaii SLOC
(b) encourage the Allied player to squander precious gound forces to garrison the remaining Allied bases when those ground units would be more effectively employed crushing the weakly held Japanese bases whilst he is preoccupied with his India foray.
3. I reiterate that sending an engineer unit and a RCT to Midway is a waste of time. He will not move on Midway until he can bring overwhelming force to bear. At that point your projected Midway reinforcements will merely become POWs. If you doubt me, then consider what he has in Hawaii. He would have brought along, in December 1941, just sufficient LCU to overwhelm the largely ungarrisoned Hawaiian bases and is subsequently relying upon small numbers of Zeros/Mikes/Bettys to maintain the blockade of Pearl Harbor. Instead of reinforcing Midway, use the intended LCU with whatever you have in North Pacific to recapture the northern bases. Don't waste precious time sending the 27th ID to New Zealand, it can get into action much quicker up north. He will not divert LCUs to contain your northern counter strike.
4. He has sole control of Koumac and is contesting ownership of Noumea. This does not concern you because you state that even if he gains Noumea it will be a death trap for his troops. Yet at the same time you believe that after New Caledonia he will move on New Zealand in order to cut off Australia, hence why you need to keep the remnents of the USN in Auckland. This strategic assessment of yours is wrong for these reasons:
(a) If owning Noumea is a death trap for his troops, why would the same not apply equally to Japanese forces in New Zealand? How exactly is Noumea a death trap? It can only be a death trap if you can interdict his SLOC to New Caledonia. Where do you propose to interdict the New Caledonia SLOC from? Surely not by naval means using your 2 remaining USN CV or USN subs with their dud torpedo rates. Any nearby Allied airbases which can be adequately supplied to project air power and gain air superiority over New Caledonia? To interdict his New Caledonia SLOC you need to control all of Vanuato together with at least Lunga in the Solomons. Owning New Zealand does not allow for interdiction of his SLOC - at best it allows for limited direct harrying of his New Caledonia forces, not his SLOC.
(b) Nemo does not waste effort on objectives which bring no economic benefits. New Zealand is of no value to him. It lacks raw materials and Heavy Industry. He goes after places like India, Siberia, Australia because they have Heavy Industry and raw materials which can be shipped back to the Home Islands. He is interested in logistics, in building up the economic power of the Empire. Owning New Zealand does not further that obective.
(c) Why would he want to cut off Australia when he can simply capture it and gain for himself directly its economic resources. If, after he has captured India before 1 June 1942 he turns his attention towards Australia, he will not have need to cut the USA/Australia SLOC in order to capture Australia. To attempt to sever the SLOC first would merely delay his operations downunder and give you time for a counter strike elsewhere. No if he moves on Australia after India, he will bring in sufficient forces to overwhel your SLOC. Even if you own New Zealand how would any reinforcements to Australia get past the KB?
5. It follows from my comments under point (4) above, that the only way to address the SoPac strategic situation is to recapture Lunga and all of Vanuato ASAP whilst he is preoccupied with India and has probably only limited garrisons in the area. Strip Pago Pago, Suva, New Zealand (but not Australia) of forces to recapture the bases which straddle his SLOC to New Caledonia. What ever AS you have in Pago Pago et al now will not suffice to hold the bases if he wants to capture them - it merely invites defeat in detail. Instead use those forces now, whilst he is preoccupied with India. Use you subs to transport Allied invasion forces, it is allowed by your HRs.
6. What do you mean when you say that you "need to do a heavy count of troops in India before serious moves are planned"? Haven't you been paying attention to your combat reports? Isn't it obvious that he would have upwards of 20+ IJA divisions in his schwerpunckt. From your posts the only thing that is not obvious to me is whether he is driving directly on Delhi with everything or he is combining his central drive on Delhi with a secondary drive on Bombay and the west coast Indian ports. Now why, according to your post #14 do you think he has stopped his Burma offensive and why he allows you to control all the bases from Madras to Calcutta? It is because those east Indian/Burma garrisons accomplish nothing. Nemo does not need those bases to support his Delhi drive and your garrisons are out of the picture, not directly opposing his drive. When he reaches Delhi and cuts off the supply lines, your garrisons will become POWs. You are left with only 2 strategic options here:
(a) use the bases to interdict his SLOC. Interdiction in this case means either using the Madras airfield (it is the only AF close enough) to gain air superiority over Ceylon and the southern Indian ports owned by Japan, or using your Burma army to advance into and recapture the Malayan bases bordering the Malacca Straits. I seriously doubt you have the capabilities to achieve either, which therefore only leaves you with option (b).
(b) abandon all of Burma and the east coast of India NOW and get those troops out of the looming pocket which will rival Kiev 1942 in size. Get those troops back to festung Delhi before it is too late. Be decisive.
7. I don't know how you have conducted your operations in India to date but you must accept as fact that with the IJA about to capture Hyderabad, you have failed completely and India is lost. The good news is that you can recover the situation if you do a MacArthur at Inchon. The more he moves into central India either the schwerpunckt will slightly weaken, due to the need to garrison his rear areas, or he inadequately garrisons his rear areas and thereby leaves himself open to a surprise "Inchon" landing. The preconditions for this counterattack are:
(a) retreat from Burma/east India [see point (6) above] to hold Delhi and constitute a strategic reserve available for your "Inchon" operation.
(b) also hold Karachi and the Pakistan bases (and ideally Bombay too) in order to maximise the length of the front line, thus sucking in as many IJA divisions into the front lines and away from garrisoning the southern Indian ports.
(c) having whatever is left of the RN available to support the landings is crucial. You cannot afford to send your few RN or AP away to support operations elsewhere because the transit time back is too long.
(d) if successful, the "Inchon" operation would draw some presure away from Delhi/Karachi. At that point be prepared to evacuate the "Inchon" force before it is overwhelmed - the objective is to gain time.
It is a major strategic Allied victory if India (ie the Delhi/Bombay/Karachi triangle) remains in Allied hands into July 1942. This is because with 2 months of Spitfire production, you can requip the RAF with Spitfires and seriously challenge for air supremacy and subsequently interdict his SLOC to India.
8. You have mentioned the VP score. It is irrelevant and should not enter into your mind at all - it definitely does not enter your opponent's mind. Go back to your HR and familiarise yourself with the victory conditions.
9. In 1942, the Allies can never (both in terms of timely deployment and size) concentrate sufficient mass for a massive single land schwerpunckt to mirror the IJA push into India. What you must do is to use your local forces to conduct a fighting retreat (a la Kuznetsev) against the schwerpunckt, and elsewhere simultaneously launch significant sized counter punches which are strategically relevant. Two already mentioned are the Aleutions/Alaska and Vanuato/Solomons. In 1942 both are essentially Allied defensive operations, providing indirect defence for Pearl Harbor, USA West Coast/Canada, Australia, and therefore will not suck in Japanese strategic reserves. The one Allied strategic offensive you can commence the preparations for in April 1942 which will not be dismissed by Nemo121 is a Soviet breakout which is discussed more fully in point 10 below.
10. You claim 8000 IJA AS opposes 4500 Soviet AS entrenched in forts level 9, with another 3500 Soviet AS up north plus a potential further 1000 Soviet AS if the recovery by sub is successful. IMHO, you have not accurately assessed the situation in Siberia.
(a) Irrespective of the terrain modifiers, under level 9 forts, a raw 4500 AS is multipied by 3 to give you an AS of 13500 defending against only 8000 AS. You are not using your LCU efficiently. If you dropped your defensive AS by a third, down to a raw 3000 AS, you are still generating a higher AS than the attackers. Why will this not suffice to hold the line whilst immediately freeing up 1500 AS for offensive operations?
(b) You claim that if you make a move with your 3500AS up north he will pounce. Pounce where and with what? If he currently has 8000 AS in the line against your 4500 AS (raw) defenders, where exactly do these enemy troops materialise from? Certainly not from the Manchukuo Army which is in the line against the 4500 AS defenders, or sent off to augment the schwerpunckt in India. What remains in Manchuria is there to garrison bases like Harbin et al. Against what would they pounce? Re read you HRs. He cannot capture Irkutsk or Novosibirsk. If you drive into Manchuria from Borcyza with your 3500 AS (plus the 1500 AS you free up by thinning the current defence line), not only are you bringing a substantial offensive punch but you are operating along the only possible axis for the IJA to "pounce" upon you.
I have run out of time for further comments today. Hope there is some for you to mull over.
Alfred
With the greatest respect, IMHO you completely misread Nemo121 and the strategic situation which confronts you. Rereading your recent posts and extrapolating from the data therein contained, together with my study of your opponents previous AARs, the following comments are offered.
1. You say you have reached April 1942. In WITP, spring comes to the Aleutians/Alaska on 1 March. That means you have already lost 1 valuable month of activity up north.
2. Nemo invades Cold Bay et al as a pre-emptive defensive measure. He uses only minimal forces and maintains only weak garrisons in the area throughout the first half of 1942. He moves into the area to accomplish two objectives:
(a) deprive the Allies of good bases with which to base PA/REC air which can monitor his northern naval movements and station naval forces which can interdict the direct Honshu/Hawaii SLOC
(b) encourage the Allied player to squander precious gound forces to garrison the remaining Allied bases when those ground units would be more effectively employed crushing the weakly held Japanese bases whilst he is preoccupied with his India foray.
3. I reiterate that sending an engineer unit and a RCT to Midway is a waste of time. He will not move on Midway until he can bring overwhelming force to bear. At that point your projected Midway reinforcements will merely become POWs. If you doubt me, then consider what he has in Hawaii. He would have brought along, in December 1941, just sufficient LCU to overwhelm the largely ungarrisoned Hawaiian bases and is subsequently relying upon small numbers of Zeros/Mikes/Bettys to maintain the blockade of Pearl Harbor. Instead of reinforcing Midway, use the intended LCU with whatever you have in North Pacific to recapture the northern bases. Don't waste precious time sending the 27th ID to New Zealand, it can get into action much quicker up north. He will not divert LCUs to contain your northern counter strike.
4. He has sole control of Koumac and is contesting ownership of Noumea. This does not concern you because you state that even if he gains Noumea it will be a death trap for his troops. Yet at the same time you believe that after New Caledonia he will move on New Zealand in order to cut off Australia, hence why you need to keep the remnents of the USN in Auckland. This strategic assessment of yours is wrong for these reasons:
(a) If owning Noumea is a death trap for his troops, why would the same not apply equally to Japanese forces in New Zealand? How exactly is Noumea a death trap? It can only be a death trap if you can interdict his SLOC to New Caledonia. Where do you propose to interdict the New Caledonia SLOC from? Surely not by naval means using your 2 remaining USN CV or USN subs with their dud torpedo rates. Any nearby Allied airbases which can be adequately supplied to project air power and gain air superiority over New Caledonia? To interdict his New Caledonia SLOC you need to control all of Vanuato together with at least Lunga in the Solomons. Owning New Zealand does not allow for interdiction of his SLOC - at best it allows for limited direct harrying of his New Caledonia forces, not his SLOC.
(b) Nemo does not waste effort on objectives which bring no economic benefits. New Zealand is of no value to him. It lacks raw materials and Heavy Industry. He goes after places like India, Siberia, Australia because they have Heavy Industry and raw materials which can be shipped back to the Home Islands. He is interested in logistics, in building up the economic power of the Empire. Owning New Zealand does not further that obective.
(c) Why would he want to cut off Australia when he can simply capture it and gain for himself directly its economic resources. If, after he has captured India before 1 June 1942 he turns his attention towards Australia, he will not have need to cut the USA/Australia SLOC in order to capture Australia. To attempt to sever the SLOC first would merely delay his operations downunder and give you time for a counter strike elsewhere. No if he moves on Australia after India, he will bring in sufficient forces to overwhel your SLOC. Even if you own New Zealand how would any reinforcements to Australia get past the KB?
5. It follows from my comments under point (4) above, that the only way to address the SoPac strategic situation is to recapture Lunga and all of Vanuato ASAP whilst he is preoccupied with India and has probably only limited garrisons in the area. Strip Pago Pago, Suva, New Zealand (but not Australia) of forces to recapture the bases which straddle his SLOC to New Caledonia. What ever AS you have in Pago Pago et al now will not suffice to hold the bases if he wants to capture them - it merely invites defeat in detail. Instead use those forces now, whilst he is preoccupied with India. Use you subs to transport Allied invasion forces, it is allowed by your HRs.
6. What do you mean when you say that you "need to do a heavy count of troops in India before serious moves are planned"? Haven't you been paying attention to your combat reports? Isn't it obvious that he would have upwards of 20+ IJA divisions in his schwerpunckt. From your posts the only thing that is not obvious to me is whether he is driving directly on Delhi with everything or he is combining his central drive on Delhi with a secondary drive on Bombay and the west coast Indian ports. Now why, according to your post #14 do you think he has stopped his Burma offensive and why he allows you to control all the bases from Madras to Calcutta? It is because those east Indian/Burma garrisons accomplish nothing. Nemo does not need those bases to support his Delhi drive and your garrisons are out of the picture, not directly opposing his drive. When he reaches Delhi and cuts off the supply lines, your garrisons will become POWs. You are left with only 2 strategic options here:
(a) use the bases to interdict his SLOC. Interdiction in this case means either using the Madras airfield (it is the only AF close enough) to gain air superiority over Ceylon and the southern Indian ports owned by Japan, or using your Burma army to advance into and recapture the Malayan bases bordering the Malacca Straits. I seriously doubt you have the capabilities to achieve either, which therefore only leaves you with option (b).
(b) abandon all of Burma and the east coast of India NOW and get those troops out of the looming pocket which will rival Kiev 1942 in size. Get those troops back to festung Delhi before it is too late. Be decisive.
7. I don't know how you have conducted your operations in India to date but you must accept as fact that with the IJA about to capture Hyderabad, you have failed completely and India is lost. The good news is that you can recover the situation if you do a MacArthur at Inchon. The more he moves into central India either the schwerpunckt will slightly weaken, due to the need to garrison his rear areas, or he inadequately garrisons his rear areas and thereby leaves himself open to a surprise "Inchon" landing. The preconditions for this counterattack are:
(a) retreat from Burma/east India [see point (6) above] to hold Delhi and constitute a strategic reserve available for your "Inchon" operation.
(b) also hold Karachi and the Pakistan bases (and ideally Bombay too) in order to maximise the length of the front line, thus sucking in as many IJA divisions into the front lines and away from garrisoning the southern Indian ports.
(c) having whatever is left of the RN available to support the landings is crucial. You cannot afford to send your few RN or AP away to support operations elsewhere because the transit time back is too long.
(d) if successful, the "Inchon" operation would draw some presure away from Delhi/Karachi. At that point be prepared to evacuate the "Inchon" force before it is overwhelmed - the objective is to gain time.
It is a major strategic Allied victory if India (ie the Delhi/Bombay/Karachi triangle) remains in Allied hands into July 1942. This is because with 2 months of Spitfire production, you can requip the RAF with Spitfires and seriously challenge for air supremacy and subsequently interdict his SLOC to India.
8. You have mentioned the VP score. It is irrelevant and should not enter into your mind at all - it definitely does not enter your opponent's mind. Go back to your HR and familiarise yourself with the victory conditions.
9. In 1942, the Allies can never (both in terms of timely deployment and size) concentrate sufficient mass for a massive single land schwerpunckt to mirror the IJA push into India. What you must do is to use your local forces to conduct a fighting retreat (a la Kuznetsev) against the schwerpunckt, and elsewhere simultaneously launch significant sized counter punches which are strategically relevant. Two already mentioned are the Aleutions/Alaska and Vanuato/Solomons. In 1942 both are essentially Allied defensive operations, providing indirect defence for Pearl Harbor, USA West Coast/Canada, Australia, and therefore will not suck in Japanese strategic reserves. The one Allied strategic offensive you can commence the preparations for in April 1942 which will not be dismissed by Nemo121 is a Soviet breakout which is discussed more fully in point 10 below.
10. You claim 8000 IJA AS opposes 4500 Soviet AS entrenched in forts level 9, with another 3500 Soviet AS up north plus a potential further 1000 Soviet AS if the recovery by sub is successful. IMHO, you have not accurately assessed the situation in Siberia.
(a) Irrespective of the terrain modifiers, under level 9 forts, a raw 4500 AS is multipied by 3 to give you an AS of 13500 defending against only 8000 AS. You are not using your LCU efficiently. If you dropped your defensive AS by a third, down to a raw 3000 AS, you are still generating a higher AS than the attackers. Why will this not suffice to hold the line whilst immediately freeing up 1500 AS for offensive operations?
(b) You claim that if you make a move with your 3500AS up north he will pounce. Pounce where and with what? If he currently has 8000 AS in the line against your 4500 AS (raw) defenders, where exactly do these enemy troops materialise from? Certainly not from the Manchukuo Army which is in the line against the 4500 AS defenders, or sent off to augment the schwerpunckt in India. What remains in Manchuria is there to garrison bases like Harbin et al. Against what would they pounce? Re read you HRs. He cannot capture Irkutsk or Novosibirsk. If you drive into Manchuria from Borcyza with your 3500 AS (plus the 1500 AS you free up by thinning the current defence line), not only are you bringing a substantial offensive punch but you are operating along the only possible axis for the IJA to "pounce" upon you.
I have run out of time for further comments today. Hope there is some for you to mull over.
Alfred
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RE: Gutter War..Empires Ablaze 2ndAcr (allied) vs Nemo121 (IJN)
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RE: Gutter War..Empires Ablaze 2ndAcr (allied) vs Nemo121 (IJN)
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RE: Gutter War..Empires Ablaze 2ndAcr (allied) vs Nemo121 (IJN)
Okay, here is a rough count.
Hyberbad......India.......6 divisions, 1 Reg, 1 Brigade and 7 Engineer Reg.......another 22 units strung out along the path...I know the Imperial Guard is in this strung out group
Madras......India.......the 200th Div
Ceylon......India.......the 201st Div (attacking my cut off troops)
Kuyshyveck......Russia......all that can be seen.......3 div and the rest of unit list is AA units but totalling 8400AV
Russia.......south of Byoza (I have roughly 3,000AV) he has 50,000 troops.
Sian......China.......10 divisions plus 2 Engineer Reg
Singora......Malaya.......RTA Guards Div and 1st Kure SNLF
Noumea......1 regiment and 4 Naval Guard (I know 2 garrison div are in Koumac)
Massive synch issues have made me disgusted watching the replay, so have been remiss tracking firm units. My warped replay has much better results than actual.
No IJN CV has been spotted for over a month.
Hyberbad......India.......6 divisions, 1 Reg, 1 Brigade and 7 Engineer Reg.......another 22 units strung out along the path...I know the Imperial Guard is in this strung out group
Madras......India.......the 200th Div
Ceylon......India.......the 201st Div (attacking my cut off troops)
Kuyshyveck......Russia......all that can be seen.......3 div and the rest of unit list is AA units but totalling 8400AV
Russia.......south of Byoza (I have roughly 3,000AV) he has 50,000 troops.
Sian......China.......10 divisions plus 2 Engineer Reg
Singora......Malaya.......RTA Guards Div and 1st Kure SNLF
Noumea......1 regiment and 4 Naval Guard (I know 2 garrison div are in Koumac)
Massive synch issues have made me disgusted watching the replay, so have been remiss tracking firm units. My warped replay has much better results than actual.
No IJN CV has been spotted for over a month.
RE: Gutter War..Empires Ablaze 2ndAcr (allied) vs Nemo121 (IJN)
From my calculations, from Dec 41 to now........Nemo should have recieved an additional 5 divisions, 6 SNLF's at 120AV, 1 Reg, and 5 Infantry brigades. And he probably has the PP's to change all those HQ's and use them where he wants.
That is some serious additional troops. Noumea will always be a death trap for either the Allies or the Japanese. Very rarely do I make a serious fight for this base. Once I saw his opening move, I made the choice to fight for it. I have to fight somewhere to delay him. From Suva, Aukland and Aus proper, I can and will level bomb the place to dust. Once I make the choice of when to shift my B17's from India.
Lunga is looking like a nice target. He has made no move to build it up. And I can shift alot of Engineer Regiments there very quickly. I do not like having Luganville and Koumac behind me though. Both are level 4 bases.
That is some serious additional troops. Noumea will always be a death trap for either the Allies or the Japanese. Very rarely do I make a serious fight for this base. Once I saw his opening move, I made the choice to fight for it. I have to fight somewhere to delay him. From Suva, Aukland and Aus proper, I can and will level bomb the place to dust. Once I make the choice of when to shift my B17's from India.
Lunga is looking like a nice target. He has made no move to build it up. And I can shift alot of Engineer Regiments there very quickly. I do not like having Luganville and Koumac behind me though. Both are level 4 bases.
RE: Gutter War..Empires Ablaze 2ndAcr (allied) vs Nemo121 (IJN)
2ndACR,
Just a few comments based on the screenshots and your last 2 posts.
1. Apparently you have B-17 in India. If so, bomb every captured Indian resource centre to force the enemy to ship in supplies. If possible use even 2E bombers to bomb resource centres rather than engage in ground/naval attack.
2. Pull out of Imphal, Kohima etc and the Indian east coast. You need the troops back to reinforce Delhi, Bombay and Poona.
3. Siberia is definitely the best location to fight Nemo. Thin out your point defence line to 2500-3000 AV and redeploy the freed units back to Borzay and then drive with everything across the border. The enemy 50,000 who will oppose you represents about 3 divisions, some 1000 AV. You should be able to hit him with about 5000-5500 AV, which when combined with the Soviet air force, should catch his attention.
4. You say you can send a lot of engineer units to Lunga which has not been built up by the enemy. As you are concerned about the enemy level 4 AF at Koumac and Luganville, consider this approach.
(a) send an invasion force to Lunga by submarine. This minimises the enemy air threat and he probably has very little in the way of a garrison, being content primarily to deprive the Allies of its potential.
(b) send Allied engineer units to build up the beaches to the east of New Caledonia. These beaches are not great (IIRC they are 0,0), but the purpose of the exercise is to station Allied fighters and divebombers to threaten Efate and act as a magnet to attrite enemy air from Koumac and Luganville
(c) build up the Allied beaches in the Santa Cruz islands to support a recaptured Lunga. Both (b) and (c) are aggressive use of your engineers rather than their current use passively building up SoPac defences where they cause the enemy no pain.
5. Definitely attack in Alaska/Aleutians. Other than Dutch Harbor, enemy garrisons in the area appear to be weak. Even Dutch Harbor is not yet a real threat to you because it is likely the airfield has not been expanded. If you can station B-19 to hit Dutch Harbor, consider their short term use to assist in your Arctic operations.
6. Norfolk Island is vulnerable. Any LCUs stationed there are potentially lost. Consider setting a trap here - remove all LCU from Norfolk Island but station your USN CV off the island to hit any unsupported enemy invasion fleet. In the meantime just park an AVD there if you still want to monitor the surrounding waters.
Alfred
Just a few comments based on the screenshots and your last 2 posts.
1. Apparently you have B-17 in India. If so, bomb every captured Indian resource centre to force the enemy to ship in supplies. If possible use even 2E bombers to bomb resource centres rather than engage in ground/naval attack.
2. Pull out of Imphal, Kohima etc and the Indian east coast. You need the troops back to reinforce Delhi, Bombay and Poona.
3. Siberia is definitely the best location to fight Nemo. Thin out your point defence line to 2500-3000 AV and redeploy the freed units back to Borzay and then drive with everything across the border. The enemy 50,000 who will oppose you represents about 3 divisions, some 1000 AV. You should be able to hit him with about 5000-5500 AV, which when combined with the Soviet air force, should catch his attention.
4. You say you can send a lot of engineer units to Lunga which has not been built up by the enemy. As you are concerned about the enemy level 4 AF at Koumac and Luganville, consider this approach.
(a) send an invasion force to Lunga by submarine. This minimises the enemy air threat and he probably has very little in the way of a garrison, being content primarily to deprive the Allies of its potential.
(b) send Allied engineer units to build up the beaches to the east of New Caledonia. These beaches are not great (IIRC they are 0,0), but the purpose of the exercise is to station Allied fighters and divebombers to threaten Efate and act as a magnet to attrite enemy air from Koumac and Luganville
(c) build up the Allied beaches in the Santa Cruz islands to support a recaptured Lunga. Both (b) and (c) are aggressive use of your engineers rather than their current use passively building up SoPac defences where they cause the enemy no pain.
5. Definitely attack in Alaska/Aleutians. Other than Dutch Harbor, enemy garrisons in the area appear to be weak. Even Dutch Harbor is not yet a real threat to you because it is likely the airfield has not been expanded. If you can station B-19 to hit Dutch Harbor, consider their short term use to assist in your Arctic operations.
6. Norfolk Island is vulnerable. Any LCUs stationed there are potentially lost. Consider setting a trap here - remove all LCU from Norfolk Island but station your USN CV off the island to hit any unsupported enemy invasion fleet. In the meantime just park an AVD there if you still want to monitor the surrounding waters.
Alfred
RE: Gutter War..Empires Ablaze 2ndAcr (allied) vs Nemo121 (IJN)
I have thought about using a fast transport group to transport a unit to Lunga and then fly in the needed supplies to build it up. But first, I need to recon Efate a little more, it may even be more doable if he still only has 1-2 units there. It would build even faster, and IIRC is already a level 2 AF at start. That would allow me to base fighters from the outset. I can fly aviation support in the next day. I have roughly 300 fighters within easy transfer range of Efate. I can airlift a Engineer Regiment by air each day with assets already in the area. IIRC I have roughly 8 regiments of engineers in the area. 4 on Suva, 1 at Tongapore, 3 at Pago Pago area, 1 on Aukland.
I will look at Russia a little closer. I have already seen how fast his 8-10 Engineer Regiments can drop my fort levels here.
Okay, reviewing my backup file from 3 turns ago........Efate is still a level 0(2) AF. But I can place 8 Engineer regiments there within 7 days. I have 4 EAB's in the area too. I would prefer the Engineer Reg because I can airlift them completely and rapidly. The only hangup is the stupid repair damage before anything else rule. Nemo will begin bombing the moment I take the base and nothing will ever increase. Supplies for building will be my only major hangup. Fast transport looks to be the only supply route until enough fighters can be based for effective CAP.
3 Engineer Regiments can begine airlifting the moment the base is secure. I have the 2nd Marine Para and the 2nd Marine Raider at Suva.
I will look at Russia a little closer. I have already seen how fast his 8-10 Engineer Regiments can drop my fort levels here.
Okay, reviewing my backup file from 3 turns ago........Efate is still a level 0(2) AF. But I can place 8 Engineer regiments there within 7 days. I have 4 EAB's in the area too. I would prefer the Engineer Reg because I can airlift them completely and rapidly. The only hangup is the stupid repair damage before anything else rule. Nemo will begin bombing the moment I take the base and nothing will ever increase. Supplies for building will be my only major hangup. Fast transport looks to be the only supply route until enough fighters can be based for effective CAP.
3 Engineer Regiments can begine airlifting the moment the base is secure. I have the 2nd Marine Para and the 2nd Marine Raider at Suva.
RE: Gutter War..Empires Ablaze 2ndAcr (allied) vs Nemo121 (IJN)
Okay, I am pulling 3 Russian div from my main line and shifting them to Boryza. We will see what is located at Hilar. Recon shows 53,000 men in 14 units.
Efate has 1 unit on it and it has not been expanded at all.
Cold Bay has 5 units there.......Umnak has 1 unit with 4300 troops.
I have shifted alot of A26 bombers to Alaska and see what happens when I start hitting Cold Bay.
Efate has 1 unit on it and it has not been expanded at all.
Cold Bay has 5 units there.......Umnak has 1 unit with 4300 troops.
I have shifted alot of A26 bombers to Alaska and see what happens when I start hitting Cold Bay.
RE: Gutter War..Empires Ablaze 2ndAcr (allied) vs Nemo121 (IJN)
I am really starting to lean towards Efate as my first target. I am starting to shift my Cats and Coronado's to Suva to prepare for my rapid airlift of Engineers. I am going to use a fast transport group for the assault because I know Nemo has Betty's sitting in Koumac and Luganville and I do not want to risk alot of precious transports or my CV's at this moment. I am trying to decide whether to use most of the Americal Div or a single RCT for the assault. I can fast transport 80% of the Americal in 1 lift, but may have to use that to hold Noumea. That gives me 2 bases Nemo will have to close instead of 1.
I will move on Hilar in manchuria with 7 full strength Russian Divisions, 1 HQ and 2 Engineer Regiments. That will give me roughly 2200AV. We will see if that will be enough to force my way thru.
Nemo finally moved a bunch of a/c into Java today. He was surprised to find about 5 ships pulling out the Dutch army from the jungle. I managed to grab an entire avaition Regiment and 2 Regiments. I have had to suspend my rescue ops for now. Once I have a few more DD's in the area, I will begin using them to fast evac forces to Timor. Speed will be of the utmost now. 7 DD's will arrive in Perth in about 7 days time.
First fighter sweep went in on Cold Harbor today using Lancers. They shot down 3 Rufes for no losses to themselves. Currently, they are the only fighters in the area with the range to reach Cold Harbor. I have 1 squadron there now, 3 more on the way. Then I can begin rotating them to keep fatigue down. I expect maybe 3 days of Rufes and then Nemo will shift Mikes or Zeros into the area.
I am slowly grabbing the remaining 2 PI divisions left. I have totally evac'ed 1 PI division. Progress is slow because I refuse to forward deploy/risk any more float planes than I must. I will then move them to Perth for rebuilding. They may be low experience, but I need every combat unit I can get. Once rebuilt they will add another 800AV or so to my forces, plus give me somewhere to use those stockpiled PI replacements I have. I can use them to garrison/protect areas to free up my main combat forces. This can only continue awhile longer and iot is doubtful I will be able to rescue many more. Nemo is cleaning up my remaining air bases in his rear area.
I have established a sub picket line around New Caladonea using my S boats. Maybe I can cause some damage for Nemo's supply transports. Even though Koumac produces 300+ resources per day.
I will move on Hilar in manchuria with 7 full strength Russian Divisions, 1 HQ and 2 Engineer Regiments. That will give me roughly 2200AV. We will see if that will be enough to force my way thru.
Nemo finally moved a bunch of a/c into Java today. He was surprised to find about 5 ships pulling out the Dutch army from the jungle. I managed to grab an entire avaition Regiment and 2 Regiments. I have had to suspend my rescue ops for now. Once I have a few more DD's in the area, I will begin using them to fast evac forces to Timor. Speed will be of the utmost now. 7 DD's will arrive in Perth in about 7 days time.
First fighter sweep went in on Cold Harbor today using Lancers. They shot down 3 Rufes for no losses to themselves. Currently, they are the only fighters in the area with the range to reach Cold Harbor. I have 1 squadron there now, 3 more on the way. Then I can begin rotating them to keep fatigue down. I expect maybe 3 days of Rufes and then Nemo will shift Mikes or Zeros into the area.
I am slowly grabbing the remaining 2 PI divisions left. I have totally evac'ed 1 PI division. Progress is slow because I refuse to forward deploy/risk any more float planes than I must. I will then move them to Perth for rebuilding. They may be low experience, but I need every combat unit I can get. Once rebuilt they will add another 800AV or so to my forces, plus give me somewhere to use those stockpiled PI replacements I have. I can use them to garrison/protect areas to free up my main combat forces. This can only continue awhile longer and iot is doubtful I will be able to rescue many more. Nemo is cleaning up my remaining air bases in his rear area.
I have established a sub picket line around New Caladonea using my S boats. Maybe I can cause some damage for Nemo's supply transports. Even though Koumac produces 300+ resources per day.
RE: Gutter War..Empires Ablaze 2ndAcr (allied) vs Nemo121 (IJN)
2ndACR,
Sorry for the dealy in commenting, I can't access the forum every day.
Some of the things you have recently posted give hope for the future, but others are not so good. Let me make a few general comments before proceeding to more specific details.
General Comments
1. A clear headed analysis of the Allied position would disclose that there is no objective basis nor capacity for the Allies to wrest the initiative away from the enemy. Therefore any aggressive moves made by the Allies entail the incurring of significant, unavoidable risk.
2. Your opponent will have sufficient forces in strategic reserve to be able to quickly redeploy to meet any local Allied offensives. The major constituent components of the enemy strategic reserve will be (a) the KB and (b) long range air assets. For strategic reserve LCUs he will rely upon his ability to every 10 days or so, buy a division out of China/Manchuria.
3. Initial Allied offensive actions in SoPac and the Arctic will not lead to a massive enemy LCU reinforcement of his bases, although the transfer of long range air assets and deployment of the KB (if it is nearby) out of his strategic reserve, is foreseeable. Thus it is wise to husband Allied naval assets until a strong CAP can be established.
4. A strong Soviet push out of Siberia will entice a strong enemy LCU riposte - this is where his LCU "strategic reserve" after all is located. Nemo will not move LCU out of India to counter a Soviet - if local reserves are insufficient to contain the Soviet thrust, he will instead thin out his SRA garrisons.
5. A single, unsupported Allied offensive will fail utterly. In order to achieve anything, you must simultaneously attack Manchuria, the Aleutians/Alaska, SoPac. You must exhibit patience.
6. With the weak Allied forces available, you must (a) create a maskirovka to act as a force multiplier and (b) throw caution to the winds and risk big.
Detailed Comments
7. I am a bit surpised that Cold Bay is held in force whereas Umnak is not. The latter is a better long term air base whereas the former is a better long term port. This deployment of enemy assets is good for you. The fact that you have commenced fighter sweeps over Cold Bay is probably premature as it discloses your interest in the area and may lead to enemy air reinforcements. My recommendations are to:
(a) not launch significant air operations in the region until the invasion forces have been collected and are ready to go;
(b) the Allied invasion targets should be Umnak Island and Adak Island because, based on the data presented, both apprear to be lightly garrisoned, are good long term airfields and are mutually supportive;
(c) to create your Arctic maskirovka, avoid combat and air recon sorties of the invasion sites - instead run any air sorties, at a very low rate against Cold Bay. You want the enemy to preceive Cold Bay, the only Aleutian base within range of allied fighters, as the potential allied target in the north, thus encouraging him to maintain his large garrison there. Two or three days before you launch the invasion TFs against Umnak and Adak, then you hit Cold Bay with maximum fighter sweeps, bomber attacks etc;
(d) after you land on Umnak and Adak, fly LRCAP over Cold Bay to nab any enemy air transports ferrying LCU;
(e) the entire Aleutian operation must be launched simultaneously with offensives in Manchuria and SoPac, the initial sea lift must be strong enough to capture the bases immediately (if necesssary strip Canada and West Coast of sufficient LCUs) and you cannot afford the time nor resources to support the Aleutian operation with CVs.
8. I concur that Efate increasingly looks the most suitable target. As I understand your LCU position in the region, you have earmarked for offensive operations in this region
2nd Marine Para
2nd Marine Raider
Americal Division
1xRCT
8 engineer units
4 EAB
To these units could be added the 5 AIF/CMF divisions you were previously contemplating for use in Java, plus numerous other units in New Zealand and SoPac which you appear to have earmarked for defensive duties. Remember my comments in point (1) above and previous posts. Yes you must garrison all rear area bases against para drops, sub borne commando raids and other cheap invasions etc but otherwise, the parcelling out of your LCUs to defend all the SoPac bases will not create garrisons sufficiently strong to repulse any determined Japanese assault. Also if you can grab the local intiative in SoPac, the chance of Allied bases being invaded drops markedly. Thus my recommendations are:
(a) create a maskirovka that Koumac/Noumea are the Allied targets by (i) concentrating your sub pickets off Koumac, (ii) bombing Koumac resource centers using B-19 plus 1 only B17 unit flying at extended range at max ceiling above Zero range, (iii) vigourously reconning Koumac and Noumea, (iv) apparently building up supplies at Noumea, (v) very carefully sail your USN CVs to announce their presence against the SLOC to Koumac - this might be accomplised by dashing at flank speed in and out of Zero range an ASW operation or a recon. NB, Efate and Luganville must be left unmolested;
(b) you have too many engineers earmarked for Efate. True, you need a lot to cope with the expectant enemy attacks and airfield base building, but not so many are required there. Instead immediate and as a preliminary step, land 3 or 4 of the available 12 construction engineer units together with the 2nd Marine Raider (as base garrison) on one of the three Loyalty Islands beaches (ie Ouvea, Lifou, Marc) which remain under Allied control and build up their airfields. With luck, this will catch Nemo by surprise and the airfield may be well on its way to level 1 before he discovers their presence. In any case as they are much closer to Noumea than Efate, he will probably think their presence is to take the pressure off the Noumea airfield;
(c) again you must sea lift sufficent force to capture Efate on the initial landing and time the invasion to occur simultaneously with the other two offensives.
9. The move out of Borzay against Hailar is the correct plan of action but the 2200 AV is far too weak and will achieve nothing at Hailar. I have previously said you need at least 5000-5500 AV to create a meaningful thrust into Manchuria. The 3 soviet divisions you have redeployed from your point defence position, when combined with the previously indicated 3500 AV available in the north, means you are not risking enough. You must throw everything against Hailar. Your point defence on the Trans Siberian railway will hold (you have not thinned it enough) and if it does not, you merely fall back onto your next level 9 fort on the railway. Because you are attacking along the Borzay axis, Nemo cannot cut off your Soviet LCU on the trans Siberian railway from reaching the absolute safety of Irkutsk if the worst happens. But by attacking Hailar in force and threatening to capture it, Nemo here (unlike the Aleutians and SoPac) will respond and his offensive operations elsewhere will be disrupted.
As a footnote, I wonder whether there is the capacity to cause some more mayhem elsewhere, say DEI, Maldives?[:D]
Alfred
Sorry for the dealy in commenting, I can't access the forum every day.
Some of the things you have recently posted give hope for the future, but others are not so good. Let me make a few general comments before proceeding to more specific details.
General Comments
1. A clear headed analysis of the Allied position would disclose that there is no objective basis nor capacity for the Allies to wrest the initiative away from the enemy. Therefore any aggressive moves made by the Allies entail the incurring of significant, unavoidable risk.
2. Your opponent will have sufficient forces in strategic reserve to be able to quickly redeploy to meet any local Allied offensives. The major constituent components of the enemy strategic reserve will be (a) the KB and (b) long range air assets. For strategic reserve LCUs he will rely upon his ability to every 10 days or so, buy a division out of China/Manchuria.
3. Initial Allied offensive actions in SoPac and the Arctic will not lead to a massive enemy LCU reinforcement of his bases, although the transfer of long range air assets and deployment of the KB (if it is nearby) out of his strategic reserve, is foreseeable. Thus it is wise to husband Allied naval assets until a strong CAP can be established.
4. A strong Soviet push out of Siberia will entice a strong enemy LCU riposte - this is where his LCU "strategic reserve" after all is located. Nemo will not move LCU out of India to counter a Soviet - if local reserves are insufficient to contain the Soviet thrust, he will instead thin out his SRA garrisons.
5. A single, unsupported Allied offensive will fail utterly. In order to achieve anything, you must simultaneously attack Manchuria, the Aleutians/Alaska, SoPac. You must exhibit patience.
6. With the weak Allied forces available, you must (a) create a maskirovka to act as a force multiplier and (b) throw caution to the winds and risk big.
Detailed Comments
7. I am a bit surpised that Cold Bay is held in force whereas Umnak is not. The latter is a better long term air base whereas the former is a better long term port. This deployment of enemy assets is good for you. The fact that you have commenced fighter sweeps over Cold Bay is probably premature as it discloses your interest in the area and may lead to enemy air reinforcements. My recommendations are to:
(a) not launch significant air operations in the region until the invasion forces have been collected and are ready to go;
(b) the Allied invasion targets should be Umnak Island and Adak Island because, based on the data presented, both apprear to be lightly garrisoned, are good long term airfields and are mutually supportive;
(c) to create your Arctic maskirovka, avoid combat and air recon sorties of the invasion sites - instead run any air sorties, at a very low rate against Cold Bay. You want the enemy to preceive Cold Bay, the only Aleutian base within range of allied fighters, as the potential allied target in the north, thus encouraging him to maintain his large garrison there. Two or three days before you launch the invasion TFs against Umnak and Adak, then you hit Cold Bay with maximum fighter sweeps, bomber attacks etc;
(d) after you land on Umnak and Adak, fly LRCAP over Cold Bay to nab any enemy air transports ferrying LCU;
(e) the entire Aleutian operation must be launched simultaneously with offensives in Manchuria and SoPac, the initial sea lift must be strong enough to capture the bases immediately (if necesssary strip Canada and West Coast of sufficient LCUs) and you cannot afford the time nor resources to support the Aleutian operation with CVs.
8. I concur that Efate increasingly looks the most suitable target. As I understand your LCU position in the region, you have earmarked for offensive operations in this region
2nd Marine Para
2nd Marine Raider
Americal Division
1xRCT
8 engineer units
4 EAB
To these units could be added the 5 AIF/CMF divisions you were previously contemplating for use in Java, plus numerous other units in New Zealand and SoPac which you appear to have earmarked for defensive duties. Remember my comments in point (1) above and previous posts. Yes you must garrison all rear area bases against para drops, sub borne commando raids and other cheap invasions etc but otherwise, the parcelling out of your LCUs to defend all the SoPac bases will not create garrisons sufficiently strong to repulse any determined Japanese assault. Also if you can grab the local intiative in SoPac, the chance of Allied bases being invaded drops markedly. Thus my recommendations are:
(a) create a maskirovka that Koumac/Noumea are the Allied targets by (i) concentrating your sub pickets off Koumac, (ii) bombing Koumac resource centers using B-19 plus 1 only B17 unit flying at extended range at max ceiling above Zero range, (iii) vigourously reconning Koumac and Noumea, (iv) apparently building up supplies at Noumea, (v) very carefully sail your USN CVs to announce their presence against the SLOC to Koumac - this might be accomplised by dashing at flank speed in and out of Zero range an ASW operation or a recon. NB, Efate and Luganville must be left unmolested;
(b) you have too many engineers earmarked for Efate. True, you need a lot to cope with the expectant enemy attacks and airfield base building, but not so many are required there. Instead immediate and as a preliminary step, land 3 or 4 of the available 12 construction engineer units together with the 2nd Marine Raider (as base garrison) on one of the three Loyalty Islands beaches (ie Ouvea, Lifou, Marc) which remain under Allied control and build up their airfields. With luck, this will catch Nemo by surprise and the airfield may be well on its way to level 1 before he discovers their presence. In any case as they are much closer to Noumea than Efate, he will probably think their presence is to take the pressure off the Noumea airfield;
(c) again you must sea lift sufficent force to capture Efate on the initial landing and time the invasion to occur simultaneously with the other two offensives.
9. The move out of Borzay against Hailar is the correct plan of action but the 2200 AV is far too weak and will achieve nothing at Hailar. I have previously said you need at least 5000-5500 AV to create a meaningful thrust into Manchuria. The 3 soviet divisions you have redeployed from your point defence position, when combined with the previously indicated 3500 AV available in the north, means you are not risking enough. You must throw everything against Hailar. Your point defence on the Trans Siberian railway will hold (you have not thinned it enough) and if it does not, you merely fall back onto your next level 9 fort on the railway. Because you are attacking along the Borzay axis, Nemo cannot cut off your Soviet LCU on the trans Siberian railway from reaching the absolute safety of Irkutsk if the worst happens. But by attacking Hailar in force and threatening to capture it, Nemo here (unlike the Aleutians and SoPac) will respond and his offensive operations elsewhere will be disrupted.
As a footnote, I wonder whether there is the capacity to cause some more mayhem elsewhere, say DEI, Maldives?[:D]
Alfred
RE: Gutter War..Empires Ablaze 2ndAcr (allied) vs Nemo121 (IJN)
Okay, Nandi has reached air field level 4 finally. Basing 96 B25's there now. They are covered by 48 P40E's.
Recon shows Nemo is now shifting force's to Efate. Aircraft symbol is now there. But they are float planes because the base is still size 0. What a great timing.[8|]
Resource bombing in India is slowly taking a toll on his captured bases.
I now have 56 B19's in Brisbane with another 12 forming in San Fran. Nemo has taken Exmouth in Northern Aus by para or sub invasion. 61 troops landed. I am trying to decide wether to leave them there or evict them.
Recon shows Nemo is now shifting force's to Efate. Aircraft symbol is now there. But they are float planes because the base is still size 0. What a great timing.[8|]
Resource bombing in India is slowly taking a toll on his captured bases.
I now have 56 B19's in Brisbane with another 12 forming in San Fran. Nemo has taken Exmouth in Northern Aus by para or sub invasion. 61 troops landed. I am trying to decide wether to leave them there or evict them.