[font="Times New Roman"]STRATEGIC CONCERNS[/font]
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The current goals are to really make the inner defenses tough and nasty while getting most units back from the outer perimeter of the Empire, as well as getting as much oil/fuel and resources to the Home Islands as possible. The HI pool goals of 3 million in the bank were reached in late November, so everything else now is icing. Supply everywhere is a concern. More on that later.
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THE EMPIRE: [/font]
Currently there are only a few far flung major infantry and logistical concentrations.
BANGKOK: This base is still a fortified post with 550+ fighters and 1850 AV behind 6 forts. Three good divisions are here. It will not be taken easily. I wonder still if I should allow these units to simply sit here until liquidated or move out soon. I can lift by sea but it'll be tricky. So far I've taken out two wrecked brigades to recover elsewhere, many construction and base force units and two HQs including the Southern HQ command. The Southern is still in range though. I'm sending in more supply from Palembang and Medan, and I hope to keep it going for another few weeks before final decisions are made.
SINGAPORE: There are few combat troops here, but there are a lot of base forces from around Malaya that have all moved back and are being shipped to Saigon to rail back. The Air Flotilla will also move back and all other HQ units will be sent as well. The only purpose of the base now is the distribution of oil/fuel out so the Southern Fleet HQ will stay put. Fleet HQs are not as critical these days, and a few might be sacrificed down here, left in place to speed loading.
SOERABAJA: A few troops are left here, including a lot of bases forces and a few HQ. Most of these will move to Batavia for shipping out and there will be a shell of defense, enough to battle a bit in the air, but not much on the ground.
ROTA: This base has not been invested by the Allies, but it is surrounded. I may try for some troops here, as there are a few good brigades I could pull, but it's a long flight and that will have to wait until Pagan and other more Northern Marianas bases are cleared out. Still, I hate to see 1000AV go to waste, so there will be a moment where I make an effort if the planes are able and there is still a base in range to pull.
MANILA/LUZON: This base is massively defended, and has now been invested by some 25+ Allied units. I don't know yet their composition, but I'm sure it's the works. I've decided to send some of the arty units I have defending at Lingayen over here, but to keep a division there in reserve and send it over only if the attacks begin to bring defenses to the brink. Maybe I should bring it earlier? I just also want to protect the back-door. There are another 1500AV in Southern Luzon and about 800AV at Aparri.
Manila is still receiving troops from Babeldaop on flying boats. Most of these are AA, engineer units and other support troops that will be moved back to other bases for rebuilding. I also successfully pulled two big brigades out of Ternate and Peleliu. A huge shipment of supply just arrived so this area should be topped up for the next few weeks at least. Another division is in Aparri and that will remain there to ensure that area has some lasting power if invaded as well. With 3200 AV, five divisions and several tank divisions, a bunch of support and level 7 forts, Manila should be hard to crack even with late war Allied troops. If the first DA can get a good result for the defenders I think we will hold for a good while, or at least force another route to develop, landing on the back side maybe which should provide more opportunities to hit troopships.
SAIGON/INDOCHINA: Saigon is lightly defended most of the time, but this is the rail yard sending on thousands of troops coming from all over the DEI continually. Another 9k troops just arrived and are going into strat mode. Most will walk into China, some will go to Haiphong and be picked up to move on. There is 750 AV including a good division at Cam Rahn Bay, and a few brigades down the coast. A small blockade of about 450-500AV is sitting on the big road river crossing from the Thai plains near Vihn. The Allies look to be moving down from the Bangkok area and aiming for Saigon. Half of the troops here are now moving into strat mode. The rest will do so at the last moment. Depending on the Bangkok situation I may leave some to fight in the good terrain here, but its easy to bypass as well, so that might not happen.
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ECONOMY:[/font]
A further concern is continued viability of the economy and production. Supply is a major factor both for use in the field and for getting repairs done to factories at home. The destruction of HI/LI centers in Tokyo recently highlighted how difficult it will be to plan for the future, so all supply shipments will be curtailed to the most necessary to keep critical areas in good shape. Most supply that leaves the HI now will go to Luzon, Formosa, the Bonins and Okinawa. China seems to still be getting sufficient supply from local centers and from Manchurian surplus. I will occasionally need to top this up though as the Allies begin to push into this area. I've been able to keep the DEI and Thailand functionally supplied from the DEI but this will end soon and the entire DEI will be evacuated.
As stated above I'm not concerned with HI levels. It's still on the rise and will be for a short period longer at least.
Airframe and engine factories are a concern. I will not be able to make all that I want to make. I just discovered that three FB groups can upgrade to the Nick Id NF version, which if filled out would be another 100+ NF. I'm now kicking myself for not having any pool of Ha-31 engines left, but I'm trying to make obsolete all planes using this engine and letting their engines go back into the pools. If this happens as I expect I could have enough to make 40-50 planes to begin during the next few months, so I've changed over a small factory and built it to size 15. These groups can also use the Randy Ic when it arrives, so it would be good to get them going, then transition when that plane is available. This would allow me to have a level of cover for some important bases I can't now protect at all.
Right now engines are covering needs but I simply can't add more, so as factories are burned up there will be a shortage. The pool for Ha-45 is really small at about 70, and the Ha-33 is only around 250 as well. Fun times!
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[font="Trebuchet MS"]RED: Current lines of the Empire.
WHITE: Future defensive line.
YELLOW: Retreat paths and evacuation routes.
ORANGE: Reinforcements by land, sea and air.
Notice that Luzon is not included in the white area. This will be defended vigorously, and once defeated I'll try to pull what I can, but this operation is mostly a stalling attempt and doesn't really constitute a strategic area of defense necessarily. Keeping the Allies away from fighter sweep range and normal 4E bombing range of the HI is the highest level of concern and is the reason for the white mark being where it is. He could use bases here for B-29s, but it wouldn't change much from what is possible now from lower Luzon bases and from the Marianas. [/font]
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