ORIGINAL: Lowpe
ORIGINAL: Alfred
The priority now is not to hit the supply lines, it is to stop Kushiro from falling. That means
- the KB also must strike at the beachhead. It is not just a question of inflicting casualties but raising the disruption level plus increasing significantly the enemy supply consumption rate. Remember to reset your DB and TB to level bombing altitudes and dedicated bomb ordnance. Also set destination even for the KB's fighters
- all LBA launching ground attacks against the beachhead
- use your NFs, not bombers, on offensive night missions
- naval bombardment of the beachhead, yes that includes the Musashi
- rushing LCU reinforcements in, by air, SST, land. Even being in the wrong move mode assists the defence
- ensure you have on hand adequate supply, use level bombers and PA which are not tasked with flying in troops. You don't need naval search.
Delay, delay, delay the fall of Kushiro is the only game in town for the next 2-3 days. Give up Kunashir and Shikotan if necessary to keep Kushiro. But don't lose Bihoro.
Remember Allied supply can not be dumped into Kushiro, only into the LCUs themselves and that is limited. There will be plenty of time later in the week to go after the out of ammo retreating Allied TFs with the KB. The outlook for the Kushiro defenders will increasingly improve after 3 more days.
BTW setting drop tanks on carrier planes is not a winner. Search for my posts on the subject.
Alfred
Edit: Forgot to add that even air lifting in support squads with zero offensive assault value, stiffens the defence.
If I would have hit the beaches with the KB, I would have no KB now...and not inflicted a lot of damage. I managed to get some Helens thru, but he cost was high in planes, and damage not that great. Same story at Bihoro.
Good tip about using NF on night bombing missions, and I have plenty of Nick NFs, but they don't have any bombs, just the cannons.
The Irving Sa has 2 60kg bombs. Better than nothing...
Lesson learned about drop tanks on CVs. The hard way of course.[:)]
Care to provide the objective evidence that you would have lost the KB or is it just an emotional gut feeling without any backing analysis.
1. Enemy CVs were east of Kushiro with fighters overwhelmingly tasked with CAP/LRCAP of carriers and Kushiro hex.
2. Enemy bomber planes were tasked with hitting the Kushiro defenders.
So what exactly would have been contained in the enemy strike package that struck so much fear?
3. KB could be positioned out of range of enemy planes but still within range of hitting the Kushiro beachhead.
4. You said all but 4 fighter units had returned to the Home Islands. That means you have some short legged fighters which could not reach Kushiro and these could have been tasked 100% to protect the KB from that all so fearsome Allied strike. By the way what exactly did those short legged planes do other than drinking sake.
5. Japanese CVs by themselves sink nothing. Same applies to Allied CVs. It is the aircraft they carry that inflict damage. The KBs planes could have been offloaded to a land airfield and from a terrestrial airfield launched against the Kushiro beachhead. The CVs themselves could have skedaddled off to Shanghai. That would be some game bug if the Allies could have sunk the Japanese carriers anchored in Shanghai.
Would the KB airwings been decimated? Probably yes but you have deep pools and if you don't, you won't survive until April Fool's Day 1944. Plus you could have swapped out all your good pilots and drafted rookies in. For the purposes of inflicting disruption and increased supply consumption the rookies would have sufficed.
6. Instead you sent planes to attack the Allied carriers located one hex further away than the beachhead. How exactly was that going to aid the beleaguered defenders at Kushiro. Enough enemy troops had already been landed to capture the base if they remained unfatigued and undisrupted.
7. You know you can't specify a target with a naval attack mission. But you can with ground attack, as I reminded you. Even the escorting fighters could have been given Kushiro as the target. Doing so would have improved considerably your aircraft coordination against Kushiro.
8. You flew in to Bihoro more troops. Why, they should have been sent to Kushiro as you were advised. What had been landed at Bihoro was not yet fatal there but more than sufficient Allied troops would be released to capture it once Kushiro fell.
The KB is currently off on a Pacific sightseeing tour. Even if it had sufficient sorties, (which it doesn't have anyway), the KB sightseeing cruise could sink every single Allied APA and AKA plus all the xAK etc and this will have no impact on Allied capabilities to launch future invasions. Firstly because he is already on Hokkaido. This is why Shikotan and Kunashiri were expendable for even with their possession the Allies would still need to launch an invasion to get ashore on the Home Islands. Secondly what is still coming down the Allied pipeline dwarfs what he currently has and therefore future invasions elsewhere are not impeded.
As always, Kushiro was the key to everything. Eventually you will find out how close were the Allies to failure had everything been singularly focussed.
Now is the time for a very serious reassessment of the future.
- Hokkaido and Sakhalin must be considered as lost. An Allied landing in Korea with the principle aim of triggering Soviet activation can not be totally dismissed
- An Allied landing in Korea with the principle aim of triggering Soviet activation can not be totally dismissed
- With so much pulled back to the Home Islands and unlikely to be released for duties elsewhere, the SRA will be easily lost
.
There are some counters to these possibilities but they are very difficult to pull off
Alfred
