The two bases between Formosa and Okinawa have been built up.
I can bombard the bases south of the Home Islands, but that won't do any good 'cause Erik doesn't have any aircraft there.
Trying to bombard the Home Island bases isn't worth it yet. Erik can easily move his aircraft around, his own defenses (mines and combat ships) remain stout, and a blunder there would cost a fleet or two or six. He has thousands of elite aircraft with multiple interlocking well-supplied large airfields.
There will come a time when bombardments against Home Island airfields are worth the risk. This isn't that time.
Fletcher DD TF's are your friend here. Fast, well armed, working torpedoes and a dynamite AA package. They can get in and out in the night phase, and if they're unlucky enough to get caught by aircraft in the daylight, they'll do well against just about anything.
Don't underestimate the risk/reward here either. Fletchers are cheap and plentiful. Minefields are risky when they are undetected, but once they're spotted they're much less nasty. CD guns are a problem, but they're static and you should know where they are by now. There's a broad sweep of southern Honshu that's open to the ocean that needs to feel the rain of 5in shells.
Fletchers aren't cheap and plentiful after years of tough fighting against an opponent the caliber of Obvert.
I have a massive fleet anchored in the Yangtze River surrounded by 20,000 enemy aircraft and who knows how many combat vessels of all makes and models. I'm using my DDs and some CLs on bombardment runs, but I have to parcel them out carefully. Already there are a bunch disbanded at Tungchow with moderate to heavy damage.
When DDs aren't as precious, or when the risk is more manageable, I've used them on BB runs. The hits on Sapporo were particularly effective.
"Rats set fire to Mr. Cooper’s store in Fort Valley. No damage done." Columbus (Ga) Enquirer-Sun, October 2, 1880.
After Hong Kong, Shanghai has the best shipyard on the Chinese coast.
Securing one of the two should be a major objective.
Don't just bypass Hong Kong on your overland drive to link up.
Assign sufficient force to secure it.
Shanghai is particularly convenient for sustaining an effort against the HI.
Yes, that's why the Allies targeted the Shanghai region with TNNBT.
An Allied army is pointed at Hong Kong, but whether it goes there is still under evaluation. Big Allied armies are currently besieging Singapore and Shanghai (well, not quite there yet). I need to get the Allied army now entering China to the Shanghai region. Getting bogged down in yet another big siege may not be feasible or helpful. I do have the shipyard at Saigon, which is big enough to help with subs and DDs.
"Rats set fire to Mr. Cooper’s store in Fort Valley. No damage done." Columbus (Ga) Enquirer-Sun, October 2, 1880.
Yeah, when they start coming in. Right now, all the reinforcements are Sumner class, with 400 AA points!
Readers who haven't gone deeply into games - say late '44 or '45 - might be surprised to learn that the flow of APAs, AKAs, and Fletchers stops entirely, I think in the autumn of '44. After that - nothing! So if you enter the late war assuming the Allied reinforcements just keep coming...ouch! Even Allied ground unit reinforcements with AV largely disappear by the autumn of '44. The last good unit to arrive is 8th Indian Division in early '45. Then about all your going to get is lots of squad replacements when Germany falls and big engineering units. By the summer of '45, some Free French units show up. And eventually there's more. But for a long, long time, the spigot is dry.
Now, that's not decisive. By then the Allies already have so much that they should be capable of waging war effectively and tenaciously. But the idea of endless reinforcements is a myth.
"Rats set fire to Mr. Cooper’s store in Fort Valley. No damage done." Columbus (Ga) Enquirer-Sun, October 2, 1880.
Fletchers aren't cheap and plentiful after years of tough fighting against an opponent the caliber of Obvert.
I have a massive fleet anchored in the Yangtze River surrounded by 20,000 enemy aircraft and who knows how many combat vessels of all makes and models. I'm using my DDs and some CLs on bombardment runs, but I have to parcel them out carefully. Already there are a bunch disbanded at Tungchow with moderate to heavy damage.
When DDs aren't as precious, or when the risk is more manageable, I've used them on BB runs. The hits on Sapporo were particularly effective.
Then use the abundance of DE's and other warship types you get.
What's better, one bombardment from 9 16inch guns, or dozens of 3inch or 4inch buckshot? They make holes in runways either way.
20k aircraft might be what you see, but what you see and what's actually their capability can be quite different. Unless Obvert has converted every one of those squadrons to kamikaze (which he won't have), the actual strike aircraft are far, far fewer.
To be honest, I think that the real difficulty is that you've immediately adopted a siege mentality regarding the Shanghai operation, which I don't think is really the case. Now, I'm not party to all the info, but there's never been a case in military history where a defender hasn't stopped screaming for more assets.
The Sumner's upgrade to 851 AA, but sacrifice their torpedoes.
Fletchers upgrade to 786 AA, and lose half their torpedoes (IIRC)
Gearing's have 851 AA and no torpedoes (IIRC).
By the time the flow of new APAs and AKAs stops, combined with the plethora of LST's, LSM's and LCIs and not to forget the LSI(L)s you have sufficient assault lift capability to land 4-5 Armies.
Every time I need to move another Corps from Naha to Kumamoto I dial up a 100 ship balanced TF and hardly put a dent in the pool of ships.
Yeah, I know the perception about "siege mentality," but I disagree.
We all have strong opinions based on our experience level, our perceptions of what's going on in the game, and our proclivities. In one area - knowing what's going on in the game - I have a massive advantage over readers, so I'm comfortable saying that I know what I'm doing.
I do realize other players would do things differently. Some might succeed. I think a fair number would fall in flames, replacing General Johnston with General Hood and encouraging him to attack, attack, attack!
The major commanders in Europe in late '44 had wildly different ideas as to what was possible and what was desirable: Montgomery vs. Patton, etc. Had a high-ranking general chosen the course I've chosen here, undoubtedly the calls for his ouster would've been widespread. But I have the luxury of sticking to what I know and what I'm planning.
"Rats set fire to Mr. Cooper’s store in Fort Valley. No damage done." Columbus (Ga) Enquirer-Sun, October 2, 1880.
I do realize other players would do things differently. Some might succeed. I think a fair number would fall in flames, replacing General Johnston with General Hood and encouraging him to attack, attack, attack!
Except that in this situation, neither Johnston, nor Hood has manpower concerns.
IDK what your USA and USMC squad pools are like at present, but you've the 600 US Army squads from the ETO. Plus the monthly production.
The flow of LSTs, LCIs, LCM, LCI(G), LCI(R) also ends in the latter months of 1944.
I noted above that the Allied player should have enough that it doesn't matter, but I can see where that would catch some players by surprise. If a player burns the candle at both ends, losing too many good amphibious ships in '43 and '44 on the assumption that they keep coming, he's going to find himself in trouble.
All of this is predicated on the assumption that he's facing a competent opponent.
"Rats set fire to Mr. Cooper’s store in Fort Valley. No damage done." Columbus (Ga) Enquirer-Sun, October 2, 1880.
Shock Attack at Nanning: In western China, the big Allied army crossed the river to shock attack the enemy garrison at Nanning. The attack went poorly, with Allied AV adjusted down from 6k to something less than 3k, while enemy AV was adjusted up radically to something on the order of 20k! Zoiks! Losses weren't disproportionate, but disablements were - something like 1700 for the Allies. It'll take my army quite some time to recover.
Now I have some hard decisions to make. Is it possible for the Allies to advance along this vector? If not, what alternatives are there? Mobility is possible, including moving this army to Haiphong, loading aboard amphibious assault vessels, and invading further north in China or the Philippines or both. Also there's the option of moving all the Singers prepped troops back that way, though at first blush I don't like that idea.
I have some tall thinking to do.
I spent the late afternoon and evening at the Atlanta Braves vs. San Diego Padres game. The Braves lost, bummer, and then I come home to find the next turn is gonna take some serious thought.
On the plus side RN Death Star wasn't molested on its move north.
"Rats set fire to Mr. Cooper’s store in Fort Valley. No damage done." Columbus (Ga) Enquirer-Sun, October 2, 1880.
Braves games is fun, but you know what needs to be done for serious thinking. Lace up those hiking boots and start walking and keep walking. Our species has the wonderful ability to do it's best thinking while walking plus walking good for the soul. The answers you seek are probably on the other side of a hill far away.
Today I come bearing an olive branch in one hand, and the freedom fighter's gun in the other. Do not let the olive branch fall from my hand. I repeat, do not let the olive branch fall from my hand. - Yasser Arafat Speech to UN General Assembly
You should be exploiting the cultivated terrain coastal route to HK.
Yes the going is slow, but no slower than the secondary roads you will encounter on your present route upon reaching Liuchow.
Do you have active air working this sector, or has your advance outstripped your air cover.
Nanning needs heavy bombing to suppress those defenders and ensure their defense doesn't get adjusted through the stratosphere when you have recovered sufficiently to make another attack.
There won't be any going through Nanning. Bombing it, even with 300 4EB, would have modest effect due to terrain, AA and forts of six.
Temporarily - for perhaps a week - my army will remain in place and I'll do my best to make it appear I intend to bull my way through. That'll give me time to merge DS and RN DS and to then go mobile, hopefully bypassing the logjam.
We'll see.
John Dillworth: Yes! Walking/hiking/paddling would've been much more conducive to thought and reflection, though I must say I didn't see the turn until after I returned from the game.
"Rats set fire to Mr. Cooper’s store in Fort Valley. No damage done." Columbus (Ga) Enquirer-Sun, October 2, 1880.
South China Sea: RN Death Star and Death Star have essential merged in the northern South China Sea, east of Hainan Island and west of Formosa. This was a scary journey. Due to concerns about security elsewhere, I kept DS circling near Formosa while RN DS made the long, exposed journey through the South China Sea. Given Erik's proclivity for striking hard when he has a chance, I'd never have taken this chance...but two things offered some reassurance - I had eyes on a bunch of his carries in port in the Home Islands, and he didn't have detection on RN DS most of the time. Still, I feared he'd have something big leap from the Philippine Islands at flank speed, doing awful things.
What Next: The merging of carrier forces offers a lot of flexibility. I have three targets in mind for ops in the coming weeks. I haven't finalized order, but I think it may be Formosa, Philippines, northern Yellow Sea. I also have to meet an incoming supply armada. I had designs on Hainan Island, but it looks like the northern port is empty, so that campaign will be handled by paratroops and fast transports bringing in a division or so.
Western China: The Allied Army has served its purpose at Nanning and will retire to Haiphong, preparatory to loading aboard transports in about two weeks for the Philippines campaign (or, possible, northern Yellow Sea). I'll leave a decent force in the jungle near the border to keep Erik honest.
Central China: Soon, most of the Allied army will embark on ships for amphibious ops elsewhere, probably northern Yellow Sea. I'll keep Nanking and the Tungchow complex secure.
Singers: Allied bombers have shut down Singers and Johore. Bombardments give some hope that the enemy garrison is suffering a bit. I don't think Erik has much AA here, nor many divisions. I think a lot of his stuff went to China. Reinforcements coming in at Aden or Great Britain will secure rear areas or help here. Erik can still reinforce or bring in supply, but I get the feeling (tentative at the moment) that he's pretty weak in the DEI.
Elsewhere: I'm working little ops near Timor to get some eyes covering that region. Eventually the Allies will move against what is mostly weak opposition. IN other regions, I've tried to scatter decent garrisons at important points (RAbaul, Luganville, Noumea, Suva) to prevent costly points-seizures. Forts are high most everywhere. But there are holes in important areas here and there.
"Rats set fire to Mr. Cooper’s store in Fort Valley. No damage done." Columbus (Ga) Enquirer-Sun, October 2, 1880.
Central China: Soon, most of the Allied army will embark on ships for amphibious ops elsewhere, probably northern Yellow Sea. I'll keep Nanking and the Tungchow complex secure.
I'm glad to hear that - I had serious concerns about China getting stalemated. That said, it's a tall order as you're either going to need to blast through the Tsushima straits or go the long way around past Hokkaido...
Central China: Soon, most of the Allied army will embark on ships for amphibious ops elsewhere, probably northern Yellow Sea. I'll keep Nanking and the Tungchow complex secure.
I'm glad to hear that - I had serious concerns about China getting stalemated. That said, it's a tall order as you're either going to need to blast through the Tsushima straits or go the long way around past Hokkaido...
[&:]
You missed the recent posts - the army loading up is in Indochina so it will not need to come in from the east.
No matter how bad a situation is, you can always make it worse. - Chris Hadfield : An Astronaut's Guide To Life On Earth
