Sqz stands down. The AAR is now concluded. Sqz (A) vs. obvert (J)

[Yaab]

ORIGINAL: SqzMyLemon

ORIGINAL: Macclan5

Really that sounds more of a nuisance than a problem.

I'll have to disagree here. The philosophy to just advance and expand everything in Burma and hope supply will eventually move where you want it to, and having every base set to draw supply was a mistake. Factor in the entire Chinese Army is in Burma and competing for all the supply needed for offensive operations and you do have a problem, a big one. Throw in the needs of the air force and it gets really ugly. If I had a navy in the IO, I could send massive amphibious taskforces to restore the situation directly.

I haven't yet had a chance to post details of the troop dispositions in Burma, but there isn't really a coherent plan to advance. That is another huge problem. Prepping for bases hasn't been maintained and many units are hopelessly out of date. The Allies need to get moving, spending 1-2 months just holding their positions so the supply situation can be restored is a killer, and will allow Japan to be that much more effective defending Burma. I'd bypass Burma all together if I had the option, but no navy present means no options.

Unfortunately, I'm having to reorganize every theatre. Supply and fuel are just not available to allow for offensive operations. In my book, that is a huge misallocation of resources. Having massive amounts of fuel and supply in Abadan, Aden, Cape Town and North America doesn't do the Allied war effort any good. By this game date, forward areas should be bursting at the seams with fuel and supply.

Burma is tough. Remember, if you do not manipulate supply requirements, all surplus supply in Burma will accumulate in Rangoon for export as it is the biggest port in Burma. Couple that with supply draw limits in bases N of Rangoon, and the lack of supply producing bases other than Rangoon, and you have a disaster in the making. Once Rangoon falls to Japs, and its supply is destroyed, the Allies are trapped in Burma's interior and can only rely on supply trickling from the border bases in India.

My plan now for a new opening in a grand campaign gamn=e is to move spare transports/bombers to Ledo from the start and fly supplies to Myitkina and stockpile the supplies there. Once Rangoon falls, the supplies will be released for use by Allied units fighting in Burma's interior. Thus the LCUs will last longer on the defense there.

[SqzMyLemon]

Turn is off to Erik.

It's time to get it on.

[Speedysteve]

[8D]

[SqzMyLemon]

Burma:

Here's the Burma theatre. The main Allied force attacked strong IJA positions east of Taung Gyi and suffered heavy losses and disablements. The army was ordered to withdraw towards Lashio. Upon taking over command, the withdrawal is ordered to continue. Supply in the hex is 11344, but 23332 is required. The supply situation won't improve much at Lashio though. Lashio will be secured, but the bulk of the army will redeploy to Katha to prepare for a new offensive. Shwebo is the first objective, then a general advance down the Irrawaddy Valley to seize Toungoo. Every AA unit available will be sent to directly support the ground advance. Despite FLAK not being nearly as effective in stock, with the recent updates it will be strong enough to take a toll on low flying Japanese ground attack missions. I will go into more detail as the weeks progress, but a new ground offensive in Burma is a priority.

There are so many Allied air and ground units committed forward in the Burma and Indian theatre that don't need to be. I will begin a massive reorganization to reduce the numbers and take the strain off the logistics. Too many bomber and transport aircraft are committed forward to my liking. I'd prefer to have a better organized fighter defence forward with the bombers and transports based further to the rear. The forward airbases are so crammed to capacity that rear area bases have little to no aviation support available. This prevents me from cycling air units in and out for rest and replenishment in a way that I prefer.

The Allies will take a step back in order for the next few ones to be forward and sustainable.

[SqzMyLemon]

I think we are set in terms of HR's.

No altitude restrictions (which scares me, but we'll see how it goes)
Maximum 50 bombers per airbase/port target at night
PP's to cross national boundaries
The Chinese can remain in India indefinitely if the supply drain on Burma is too much. They can redeploy to China at any time.

That's pretty much it.

I expect Erik to take a few days with the turn before we get rolling.

[SqzMyLemon]

As mentioned previously, I really have no clue as to Japanese intentions at this point.

From scouring the map, my guess is Japanese carriers are north of Iwo Jima. There are a number of Allied submarines that have DL's of 10/10 which screams to me carriers. I do not know if they are withdrawing from, or sailing to, the Marcus Island area. I don't anticipate any problems withdrawing my carriers back to Pearl Harbor, excepting the Japanese submarine threat.

Air battles are going to be interesting with no restrictions on altitude. I'm aware of Erik's testing of Japanese CAP settings, and I'm curious to see how he'll apply his findings in this game.

[SqzMyLemon]

The longer I look at the Allied situation, the more uneasy I feel. I see so many opportunities for the Japanese to exploit poor Allied dispositions. So uneasy that I had to order myself a new model kit to feel better! [:D]

Luckily, I have a turn from Francois tonight so I can take my mind off this one.

[SqzMyLemon]

The game is underway!

First update to follow. I also need to post Allied naval losses to date, which includes far too many battleships.

The Allies need to get busy!

[poodlebrain]

Having to reorganize the CBI sucks, but it appears unavoidable. Is it possible for you to try and isolate the Japanese units east of Ramree while performing the reorganization? The opportunity to make those units pay for being west of the Irrawaddy just seems too good to let pass. If you do not fight them now you will have too fight them later without the possibility of malaria causing them extra fatigue and insufficient supply.

[SqzMyLemon]

ORIGINAL: poodlebrain

Having to reorganize the CBI sucks, but it appears unavoidable. Is it possible for you to try and isolate the Japanese units east of Ramree while performing the reorganization? The opportunity to make those units pay for being west of the Irrawaddy just seems too good to let pass. If you do not fight them now you will have too fight them later without the possibility of malaria causing them extra fatigue and insufficient supply.

I'm going to drive right down the Irrawaddy Valley. I'm not going to try and bludgeon my way through Taung Gyi. I'll push for the gap between Prome and Toungoo to flank the major Japanese positions. I'll force Erik to have to abandon his defences or risk getting isolated. I just wish Allied FLAK was in Burma in the numbers I need to reduce the effectiveness of Japanese bombers targeting my force in clear terrain. The delay to get the AA into the theatre is something I am not happy about.

I tend to waffle at times, but in this theatre I know exactly what I want to do and how, but there will be delay getting the pieces in place.

[Macclan5]

ORIGINAL: SqzMyLemon

..... I just wish Allied FLAK was in Burma in the numbers I need to reduce the effectiveness of Japanese bombers targeting my force in clear terrain. The delay to get the AA into the theatre is something I am not happy about.

More than a nuisance indeed. [8D]

No offense intended - a casual observation from your first peek under the hood.

I surmise now it seems to be a function of deployment and supplies. Especially i.e. with the "entire Nationalist" Airforce in Ledo. Hmmmmm..

I also surmise from the map - but cannot tell... that Akyab, Cox and Chitt are yours well entrenched but evidently without much in the way of FLAK... and supplies... and ..... [:(]

Are those bases in particular at least well built up (Port / Airfield) to support a counter offensive ?

[BBfanboy]

Macclan5:
and supplies... and ..... [:(]

What was to be the end of that thought? Good Ale? Fine restaurants? Women? [:'(]

[SqzMyLemon]

ORIGINAL: Macclan5

No offense intended - a casual observation from your first peek under the hood.

I surmise now it seems to be a function of deployment and supplies. Especially i.e. with the "entire Nationalist" Airforce in Ledo. Hmmmmm..

I also surmise from the map - but cannot tell... that Akyab, Cox and Chitt are yours well entrenched but evidently without much in the way of FLAK... and supplies... and ..... [:(]

Are those bases in particular at least well built up (Port / Airfield) to support a counter offensive ?

None taken and hopefully none given by my previous response.

I'm tempted to disband/withdraw most of the Chinese air force. It's a shame Ledo was switched to CNC command. It would have been better if the Chinese air units had been assigned to an Allied HQ. I know it was probably cheaper in PP's, but now I have all these air units that can't be deployed anywhere else. Frustrating, but I have 5000 PP's to play with so I may change the HQ for a number of Chinese air units.

With Erik allowing me the option to keep the Chinese in India indefinitely, I've decided to rail them to Karachi and area to get them out of the way.

As to your question about Chittagong, Cox's Bazar and Akyab. I don't recall the fort levels off the top of my head, but Chittagong's airbase is level 9. I can't remember the status at Cox's Bazar, but I think it's ok. Akyab is being successfully suppressed by Japanese bombing. There is some AA along the coast and in Burma, just not in the numbers that will really hurt. Most of the British and Indian AA heavy hitters are on Ceylon, including the deadly 23rd AA Brigade.

The Allied forces along the coast are rather weak, consisting of mostly unrestricted Chinese Corps with little to no offensive punch. Practically the entire Allied effort was focused on Taung Gyi and almost all the Allied armour is committed here. Exactly in the type of terrain it is least suited for. The armour will be redeployed immediately.

I do have excellent air bases along the Burma/India border so that helps. It's just they're being used inefficiently, or at least not my idea of efficient.

Once I get the Chinese redeployed and the Allied forces reorganized, I can see the effect on supply. I plan on trying to get additional supply into Burma, if Erik lets me, via sea transport.

[Lowpe]

ORIGINAL: SqzMyLemon

First update to follow. I also need to post Allied naval losses to date, which includes far too many battleships.

That is what I would like to see.

[SqzMyLemon]

With the navy due to return to a Pearl Harbor empty of fuel, there can be no immediate offensive operations in the Central Pacific.

The same inability to conduct offensive operations exists in the IO, but for a different reason. Ceylon has 750k+ of fuel, but no fleet to utilize it. The plan is to sacrifice transports, if need be, to get supply directly into Burma.

That leaves Australia as the only theatre that has both fuel and naval assets to use it. The caveat is there is roughly only 60k fuel available for naval operations. I've decided to use what is there immediately to keep pressure on the Japanese in New Guinea and the Solomons. Reinforcements will consolidate the Allied position. I'm lacking adequate intelligence on Japanese dispositions, but Merauke looks to be a possible target. By the time I exhaust the available fuel in Australia, I will have a more efficient transport network in place to provide the fuel levels required for ongoing operations.

Allied submarines will deploy to the New Guinea theatre, as currently there isn't much of a presence. There are easily 25+ submarines in Australia and Pearl Harbor that are currently doing nothing.

For the short term, the Allies will be running 'just in time' logistics.

Now I just need the next 2 1/2 hours of work to fly by, then I can get home and see where I'm at after my first turn issuing orders.

[BBfanboy]

Not sure of the game date because of the other AARs I read (and lack of memory capacity[8|]).
Would you please remind us of the game date once in a while? Thanks!

[SqzMyLemon]

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy

Not sure of the game date because of the other AARs I read (and lack of memory capacity[8|]).
Would you please remind us of the game date once in a while? Thanks!

BB, I'm disappointed. I always provide the game date in updates.

The game date is Oct. 31/43. I'm just about to run the turn. My first turn of my own in this PBEM. [8D]

Everything has been filler, until now.

[SqzMyLemon]

ORIGINAL: Lowpe

ORIGINAL: SqzMyLemon

I also need to post Allied naval losses to date, which includes far too many battleships.

That is what I would like to see.

Kudos to Historiker. The American Navy is in excellent shape. The British have been somewhat roughed up with the battleship losses. My perception of the overall number of battleships lost was more dire than the reality would indicate. Considering three old U.S. battleships appear to have been lost near Wake Island recently, the total is actually quite low.

Here are the major Allied vessels lost as of 31 Oct 43: 1 CV, 1 CVE, 12 BB, 4 CA, 14 CL, 35 DD and 41 SS.

CV Lexington
CVE Long Island

BB North Carolina
BB Arizona
BB Oklahoma
BB Nevada
BB West Virginia
BB Colorado
BB Maryland
BB Resolution
BB Ramillies
BB Royal Sovereign
BB Revenge
BB Prince of Wales

CA Portland
CA Northampton
CA New Orleans
CA Canberra

CL Marblehead
CL Helena
CL Boise
CL Java
CL De Ruyter
CL Tromp
CL Enterprise
CL Danae
CL Dragon
CL Dauntless
CL Ceres
CL Caledon
CL Capetown
CL Colombo

Japanese losses as of 31 Oct 43: 4 CV, 2 CVL, 2 BB, 7 CA, 7 CL, 31 DD and 26 SS.

CV Kaga
CV Hiryu
CV Zuikaku
CV Junyo
CVL Shoho
CVL Zuiho

BB Haruna
BB Kirishima

CA Chikuma
CA Takao
CA Chokai
CA Haguro
CA Suzuya
CA Kinugasa
CA Furataka

CL Katori
CL Nagara
CL Abukuma
CL Kuma
CL Tama
CL Kiso
CL Yubari

Still a potent IJN out there.

[SqzMyLemon]

31 Oct 43 ends with a whimper.

I'm not able to provide any AAR's for the 31st. Erik figured the sequence of our updates would cause the replay and reporting to be messed up on the Allied side and he was right. Hopefully, next turn everything will work properly and I can watch the replay and view the combat report.

The only action of note was American AM's at Marcus Island causing damage to a Japanese RO submarine. There were 8 hits recorded, but I don't know if any were direct DC hits.

It seems we both held back waiting to see what the other might do. More of the same from me next turn.

One huge implication from updating the game. The changes to aviation support kicked in big time. All my airbases of level 8 or higher had their available aviation support doubled. This takes the pressure off what were once filled to capacity airbases. However, Erik will receive the same boon, and I expect to see even more Japanese aircraft committed to Burma.

[Lowpe]

Very interesting and definitely good news for you I think....

I think you are in good shape to reorganize and launch major offensives...coincides nicely with the upcoming arrival of the CV Corsair.

Can you give us some insight on how you plan to use your 4E bombers, Submarines, and the pools of your fighters?