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Now the not so good news. I looks like Scott suckered me. He paradropped into Einwetok and I managed to get an invasion force on the ground in just three days. But, the paratroops were gone. So, I have a whole fleet out there with sub risk and wasting fuel while I wait for my troops at Eniwetok to reload and come back to Truk. I'm pretty sure this is a war crime. [:)]

Even worse, while my carriers are cooling their heels it looks like Scott has a CVTF headed towards the DEI. He'll beat me there so I figure that I'll take care of one task at a time and cover the reloading of the troops but he has a drop on me right now.

Of course, just when you're worried that the USN is about to get the drop on you your subs come through. [:D] Nice damage report but too close to port and no fires so I don't think that the Saratoga is going down. But, looks like it's back to the yards for her for awhile. This will help keep the balance in my favor for Meruke!

Well, here we are in the later part of September 1942. Still not much to write about. My lastest offensive thrust in China ran into the inevitable wall of Chinese that shifted along the interior lines. My divisions ran up such heavy fatigue that I had to rest them a few turns between attacks and that gave the Chinese plenty of time to move in reinforcements. So, I'm gathering up a new attack force and I'll go at him in the center in a place that's harder for him to reinforce once he can identify my thrust. Is the same in the West near burma. I have 6 divisions there that are not doing anything so I might as well give it a shot to see if I can break through to Kunming.

BTW, I see that my new Helen's have a MAD. Is this a Magnetic Anamoly Detector? Should I be using them on ASW?

I mentioned awhile back that Meruke will be my next target. I've moved the KB to Ternate and it is in hiding. I have the mini KB hitting Dutch subs outside of Balikpapan and I'm moving reinforcements from Truk to Ternate, then, we'll see what happens.

Last but not least, Scott has a large fleet at Buna. I'm not 100% sure what he's doing there. Perhaps it's a stepping stone to Rabaul? I discovered the wonderful world of Evacuations so I've managed to pull a few units out of that location to fight another day. It has 75,000 supply so it should be able to hold out awhile.

ORIGINAL: John B.

Of course, just when you're worried that the USN is about to get the drop on you your subs come through. [:D] Nice damage report but too close to port and no fires so I don't think that the Saratoga is going down. But, looks like it's back to the yards for her for awhile. This will help keep the balance in my favor for Meruke!

It's always Saratoga that gets hit by Subs, isn't it?

Hah, it really is. It would probably be hit by subs if you just left in in LA for the whole war.

Well we're nearing the end of Sept. 1942 and things are still stagnant but may be starting to heat up just a bit. Here in China I'm pushing in the north (see battle circle on map) not with any real force but just to keep killing some Chinese. And, it would be nice to get him into the open for some fun bombing runs. I'm stymied every place else and only killing about 10 Chinese squads per turn with bombardments. So, I'm gathering a large force in Changsha and I'll see what opportunity there is to throw those divisions and tank regiments into the fray.

Ooops, here is the map that goes with the last post.

I feel better about the DEI. I've got some troops in place with more on the way and the KB is at Ternate. This is part of my plan to invade Meruke to prevent an easy 1943 run to my oilfields. The troops for the Meruke invasion will be ready in a bit more than a week and then we'll see what's going to happen.

VP as of the current turn. As you can see, Scott has sadly stooped to bombing my planes on the ground with his B-24s and B-17s flying out of Ledo. I really expected more from him than this. Not many VP being won or lost right now.

ORIGINAL: John B.

...

BTW. I built the fort on Saipan up to level 6 and now the number is highlighted in red. What does that mean?

This means building more levels of forts will be more expensive than normal.

Tarkalak, Thanks! [&o]

And, we now have things to report. In China, I've been gathering a large reserve force to throw into one place. Currently sitting in Changsha is 7 divisions and about 9 tank regiments. I have two more divisions on the way and then they can try to bust through his iron ring. I'll attack in the mountians outside of Burma with 6 divisions in about two weeks and, as you can see in the north, I've been pushing Scott back away from the road. I don't think that will lead to much since I don't have a real supply line and not too many troops, but I have been pushing around a few of his corps and to the extent that he gets drawn away it's all the better for my subsequent pushes.

Here an amphibious TF is heading to Merauke. I don't think Scott is going to fight for it so there is not likely to be any significant naval battle. That's too bad, so I may just kill whatever base force he can't fly out of there. But, it will slow him down a little bit. And, without a support base I wonder if this makes Darwin vulnerable.

The real disappointment is the Tojos. In there first real air combat test they suffered a two to one loss ratio. This was in China and here is just one of the battles. I might as well be sending in Oscars if this is the results I'm going to get.

ORIGINAL: John B.
The real disappointment is the Tojos. In there first real air combat test they suffered a two to one loss ratio. This was in China and here is just one of the battles. I might as well be sending in Oscars if this is the results I'm going to get.

Umm, you went in low (5k) into numerical disadvantage, what did you expect? Lightnings probably bounced you from the start.
In general, Tojo is good CAP fighter with its climb and service rating, but a so-so sweeper with low firepower and short range. Should sweep high in any case

GetAssista,

I thought the same thing and I have no idea why they went in so low. They were set for 22K in part to pull Allied CAP up to save my bombers who were going in low. Did not work and lots of bombers were lost.

So, a few more days have past and things are looking up in China. As you can see, there is a breakthrough in the rough terrain south of Kienko. This in and of itself won't lead anywhere because I don't have many forces there and it's very hard to draw supply with no direct road connection. But, I have savaged 6 of Scott's corps and he now needs to protect his river line thus drawing down reserves or pulling troops from other fronts.

This is helpful because I continue to build a reserve of my own in Changsha. In about a week I'll have 8 infantry divisions, one tank division, and about 7 tank regiments. Then, they will move out and try for a full scale bust out in the south.

Alas, Scott is in the process of siezing air superiority in Burma. He has sent waves of fighters that have beaten me down. No sign of a land offensive yet, but I'm sure that's coming. My hope is for him to wait long enough for me to send the six divisions in Burma into China for a breakthrough there targeting Kunming etc.. Scott does have a large airbase at Ledo that he can use to get me in the clear in China and to hit me in Burma but I don't think that there is anything I can do about that.