Vettim89 vs Greasylake - Reversal of Fortunes

[Q-Ball]

I think the other comments are very valid; both that the Solomons aren't that important, but if they are unoccupied, you may as well go up the chain to attrite them.

Just remember, there are only three real Allied territorial objectives in this game:

1. Get a size-7 airbase or larger within B-29 range of Japan. The Marianas, Sakhalin, Luzon will do. OR, alternatively, size 4+ within B-24 range of Japan. Iwo fits here.

OR

2. Attack/Cut off Oil shipments from the DEI to Japan.

OR

3. Capture things worth lots of VPs; like, Noumea, or many of the above targets.

Everything else is just a barrier, steppping-stone, or sideshow to these primary objectives, or way to clear supply shipments.

1 or 2 only will win you the game.

The Solomons doesn't do much for ANY of these objectives.

[vettim89]

After 25 days, Tarawa falls to a combined Marine/Army assault. Still 27 K Japanese troops on the island. SeaBees are already in route. Initial recon flights indicate Majuro is empty. If that is true, it will be my next target.

Across the world the 2nd UK Div which had lower disruption had a deliberate attack go off 0 to 1. Disruption is now 75. I do not understand this game sometimes.

Starting to move units around now for furture operations. I decided on a low intensity run in the Solomons. This is just a diversion. I want Larry to think this is the big show while I prep for the true big show, Timor. I will need to occupy and build up Melauk first. I may try a low level occupation of Madang too just to throw a curve at my opponent.

My brother and I were talking about this game today and he remarked that if he were playing he would do exactly what Larry has done. Very low level expansion and massive build up of a defense perimeter. The Tarawa op has shown me by concentrating his forces closer in, they are tougher nuts to crack.

[JeffroK]

Perservere with land combat, if you wait till your LCU are 100%, you have also allowed his LCU to recover.
 
If you have a Division fighting 2-3 Bns, you will wear him out faster than you wear out.
 
Not many IRL battles were over in a day

[vettim89]

27 July 1943

Operations have been focused in three areas of late

1. Reducing the Japanese forces present at Port Blair and Tarawa. In the BoB, the Japanese SCTF is missing from Georgetown. My TF's have pulled back towards Ceylon for much needed fuel. I have a sneaking suspicion we will see a bombardment of Port Blair soon. Not much I can do about it at this point. If this comes off as anticipated my only recourse may be to ship some fuel into Port Blair and permanently station my own SCTF there.

2. Moving units into postion for offensive operations in the Solomons and NG with final aim of Timor. This includes moving the P-40, Hurricane, and Kittyhawk sqaudrons out of PM and replacing them with P-38's and brand new P-47C's.

3. Heavy fighting in CHina. The Japanese tried a deliberate attack at Honan which came off at 0 to 1 but reduced the forts to 8. The IJA took 7500 casualties in this attack, For some reason the base has 6 k supplies but none of my units have any. I transferred out the P-40 sq in case that is where the supplies were going. In addition, I transferred in some C-47/Dakotas into Chunking to aid in the supply flow into Honan. Not to be outdown the CHinese tried a shock attack in the hex NNE of Changsha which came off at 0 to 1 and caused 4500 Chinese casualties. Its all about the supplie or lack thereof in CHina.

CV Bunker Hill has departed Pago Pago for Abemama where it will meet up with the rest of the US CV's. Recon of the Marshalls reveals small garrisons at Wotje and Juluit, nothing at Mujaro and a large Garrison at Maeolap. First recon of Kwajalein is this turn. I am especially interested in what may be in the port there.

Just 34 days until P-38J, B-24J, and B-17G production start up. This will finally let me start a bomber offensive in earnest. Only a few of the 4E groups are at full strength with some as low as 50%.

Oh, in a new record, SS WHale attacked three different AK's in the same turn. She hit two and both are severely damage. This occured of the north coast of Borneo.

[Capt. Harlock]

1. Get a size-7 airbase or larger within B-29 range of Japan. The Marianas, Sakhalin, Luzon will do. OR, alternatively, size 4+ within B-24 range of Japan. Iwo fits here.

OR

2. Attack/Cut off Oil shipments from the DEI to Japan.

OR

3. Capture things worth lots of VPs; like, Noumea, or many of the above targets.

Why choose if you don't have to?[:D]

[vettim89]

26 July 1943

Operations are very low intensity right now focusing mostly on mopping up Tarawa and Port Blair. First turn of Intel on Kwajalein is fuzzy although no bombers are listed as being there. Port has 36 ships but they are all listed as AG. FOW so far. I am hoping some continued recon will clarify the situation here. As of now all invasions for Kwajalein and Maeolap are canceled. The units tasked for these bases are not yet reassigned but I am considering it. WIth Majuro empty and Jaluit and Wotje very lightly garrisoned, I will hit these bases and starve out the rest. Enietowok is the wild card as I could really use this base far to the west.

Large convoys with supplies and feul are heading toward Noumea and ultimately Lunga. I forgot about Americal Div which has been siting in Noumea forever. It is now prepping for Buin. I have 2nd Marines, a RCT and that division to task to the Solomons. ALso, lots of SeaBee units. As odd as it may sound, with Larry's present dispositions, this should be enough to at least take Buin.

I promised a screenie of the VMF's at Abemama. Here it is. Keep in mind a month and a half ago, the best fo these units had AVG EXP of 60 and 0 kills. Not a bad 45 days of work.

I am considering something. Because of my taking Rangoon and Tavoy, I am within the Inner Defensive Perimeter. Therefore Kamikaze's could appear in just five months. The thought rolling through my brain is it may be best for me in the long run to try to take the Marianas by years end. That way my B-29 bases will be secured before the Kami's hit. I will think about this but I probably need to be acting on it by 1 August if I hope to pull it off.

[vettim89]

27 July 1943

Recon at Kwajalein shows 40 ships in port but only listed AG's as ID'd ships. There is at least one combat TF there. Intel now shows 141 Fighters and 8 bombers. I think Larry's Betty and Nell pools are about shot from Tarawa.

The RN TF's are approaching Ceylon. The will load up the units for Nicobar Is op, we'll call it Operation Robin (short for CHristopher Robin). Once this base is where I want it I will take Victoria Point. I realized I am not pressuring Larry enough right now. I have him on his heels and need to keep him there. I decided that if I can take Victoria Point and maybe Sabang quickly, I am going to do the Padang Op. This must be completed by 12/32/43 if I go. Maybe I am too obsessed with the Kamikaze threat.

Large amounts of troops and supplies heading for Lunga and Noumea. I sent a TF to Aukland to pick up another NZ BGD to garrison Noumea as Americal Div is heading north. Slowing switching out the fighters at PM. The RAAF units are leaving and being replaced by USAAF units flying P-38/P-47. Another 72 plane P-47 group is near Noumea right now. Reconning the bases near the Andaman Sea to see whats there.

[vettim89]

28 July 1943

Four out of the six units died of attrition this turn. Hallelujah. Moving units to occupy Makin and build it to a level 4 AB ASAP. Once my lift gets done moving stuff around, I will occupy Majuro. CV Bunker Hill arrives Abemam next turn. CV Enterprise is done to 5 SYST after her upgrade. Surprisingly CVL Monterrey is done to 13 SYST Damage. At present rate she may be able to sail with Enterprise accompanied by BB Washington and CA Indianapolis (both at 0 SYST now).

Should be done shuffling air units aroud in Oz and NG next turn. We will then use the 168 P-38's and 72 P-47's to evict the Japanese air units from NG. That is assuming that Larry follows form and pulls his units as soon as insurmountable losses start piling up.

Loading up a hug TF with AK and TK heading for Tavoy. This will be the jumping off point for the Victoria Point Op. I am gonna chance running the Nicobar Island Op simultaneously with the Victoria Point Op. Hoping to overwhelm Larry's ability to deal with two threats simultaneously

In China, Larry has ceased training and is flying combat ops dealing with his move on Hanon, my move on Singyang (spoiling attack), and my moves on NE out of Changsha. My Chines fighter groups are taking a lot of losses but not as many as Larry's and he is losing Tony's and Tojo's to my P-40-N-1. I have a USAAF P-40E FG training out of Kweilin. As soon as Avg EXP hits 70 (66 now) it will be commited to the air battle.

[vettim89]

29 July 1943

Down to one unit on Tarawa. TF's are inbound to pull out the combat troops to R&R in Samoa. LBA will stike Maeolap today. The first F4U-1 SQ lands at Tarawa as Av support is flown in from Nukefutau. A TF is inbound for Makin to occupy and build an AB there. Gathering units together for Majuro Op.

Units are about in place for the NG air campaign. Its time to make this theatre active again. I feel a real sense of urgency to get after Larry before the Kamis kick in. I lack lift right now. As many as I have, I don't have enough LST's and AP's. AN embarrassment of riches and I want more. CV Intrepid and a CVL arrive in 14-15 days. There is then a two month gap befoer I get any more combat carriers when I get 2 CVL and a CV in 15 days. Then there is a four month gap before the CV's kick back in where I will get about one a month for the foreseeable future. Of course I will sart getting VCS type CVE's by then too. I suppose I could offload a couple of the VF-R/VB-R/VT-R squadrons to a base with no replacements set. I also have CVE Long Island.

[ny59giants]

While you move through the Marshalls, you could leave one base alone and use it as your "China" to train up your new LBA pilots. 

[vettim89]

ORIGINAL: ny59giants

While you move through the Marshalls, you could leave one base alone and use it as your "China" to train up your new LBA pilots. 

At present I plan to bypass both Kwajalein and Maeolap as they both have big garrisons. Majuro can be built to leve 5 AB so I do't need Maeolap. Kwajalein's level 5 AB would be nice but I can live without it. Wotje and Jaluit have small garriosn but I don't need those bases although Jaluit already has a level 3 port. At present I am planning on taking Makin, Majuroa and Eniwetok. Everybody else gets left behind unless experience proves it is otherwise a bad idea.

30 July 1943

After a bitter 33 day struggle, the last vestiges of Japanese resistance are gone from Tarawa. Plans are acccelerating for the next big Op which will be designated Operation Grumpy = Majuro. I have a lot of rearranging of units to do as the former frontline is now 500 nm away from the action. Garrisons on Nukefutau and Nanumea will be reduced as units move forward.

My deliberate attack at Port Blair came off at 23 to 1 and only caused 76 Allied casaulties. End is in sight there. LBA will strike Bangkok's HI today as Larry insists on repairing it. Cost 10 k a point, right? Why waste the supplies knowing I will just cream it again. The LBA lost at Rangoon in 1942 arrived today as Buffalos and Mohawks. They are upgrading to Hurricane IIC pending the arrival of Thunderbolt II next month. My higher experienced units get first dibs on those airframes though

Back at SF CV Enterpise has fallen to 4 SYST but what I am really happy about is CVL Princeton is now at 10 SYST. The original plan was to sail Enterprise, BB Washington, CA Indianapolis plus six DD's that are fully repaired and upgraded in about ten days so that they would arrive in the SoPac about the same time CV Intrepid and her accompanying CVL arrive there. Those two ships are due at Panama in 14 days. At this rate Princton may be going along too.

The last unit is due to arrive PM next turn. I will neutralize Dobodura first then Lae. While this is going on, additional engineers will sneak into Thursday Island to speed the build up of that base. Once Thursday Island is done I will move on Melauk.

Screenie: RL Betio after the Japanese were eliminated. I think in my version the island probably looks more like the moon than a tropical paradise

[vettim89]

31 July - 2 August 1943

As far as the post title, I'll save that for the end. Operation Sneezy (Makin Island) will go off next turn. I have a RCT, 2 CB's, and a BF going in to this unoccupied island. Establishing an AB here will allow me to escort Tarawa based 4E's to Kwajalein. Speaking of Tarawa, the AB is 66% to Level 5 ther now with 270 Av support and growing. The 1st Marines and 138th RCT are loading up and heading to Savali to rebuild.

Ops levels are really accerating now as lift is being organized in four areas simultaneously. TF's moving back to Samoa to lift units into Majuro. TF's in bound to Lunga for Solomons Op. TF's inbound to NE Oz for Marauk and eventually Timor Op. TF inbound to Port Blair for Nicobar Island Op and eventually Victoria Point Op.

USN SS's sink an AK and badly damage a TK in the past three days. I had surged all my subs into forward areas on 1 January 1943 when TT dud rate dropped. This of course sent most of them back to port about the same time. As they all had various levels of damage, they are now rotating back in at a variable pace. This is actually better for sustained ops but there was a while there where I only had two SS west of Kwajalein.

Lastly, the USAAF swept Dobodura on the 2nd. This is notable as it is the PTO combat introduction of the P-47C. I had upgraded the 49th FG which had been flying P-40's but had a nice high EXP level (which for me right now is in the high 70's). The raid started with the Tojo's going after the Boomerang's and P-38E. Who says the AI is stupid as it went straight for the weakest aircraft. Then the 49th engaged and the plane counter went from 11 to 0 in like 3 seconds. The P-47 is my favorite WWII airplane and I was very happy to see a nice debut.

[vettim89]

3 August 1943

I keep meaning to get a screenie of China. Presently Larry has invested Honan but his AV is inferior to mine. I moved units into Sinyang just to distract him They are now cut off but he is grinding his units down trying to move them. I have moved out of Changsha on two axes. One due north that has forced the Japanese back across the river towards Ichang (I think). My units just finished crossing the river so they will need some rest and resupply. The second thrust is NNE of Changsha and is the main thrust. Here I have the IJA with nearly 4000 AV to 1300. I have already force two units to retreat but Larry brought in some reinforcements.

Air battles rage over the hex NNE of Changsha constantly and the screenie shows one going very bad for the Japanese. I have a 72 plane P-40E FG at Kweilin training on Larry's stack at the crossroads south of Hengchow. It is almost up to 70 avg EXP and will be thrown into the battle around Changsha when ready. Up to this point the USAAF units tabbed for CEF/NCAC have been used in SEAC. I will send some of the incoming reinforcements to China to keep pressure on in this theatre. One thing I have done is pin a lot of IJA units down so they can not be withdrawn for defense elsewhere. There are 17 units at or near the crossroads, 6 NNE of Changsha, and 6 at Singyang, anf 14 at Honan.

[vettim89]

Realized it has been a while since I posted a full update. Start with the score. As you can see the gap has fallen to about 5000. The difference remains in Army Points lost. I am surprised the Japanese total is not higher as I can account for 13 IJA units elimnated completely in the last few months including three full ID.

[vettim89]

Japanese ships sunk. Of the 59 DD's sunk, 18 are modern ones with VP values of 10 or more. Of the 15 TK sunk, 11 are large ones. IF I did not include them, two Japanes CVE's have been sunk. I was hoping to have sunk more lift by now. My goal at the outset was to average 10 a mont. Almost 19 months in and we are lagging.

[vettim89]

My ship losses. Interesting that the IJN and combined ALlied DD losses are about equal right now. The differnce of course is that I have produced more than I have lost since the war's start. I know that is not true for the Japanese. Amazingly I have lost only four AP's to this point. My SS losses have really spiked this year but that is becasue they are out there being aggressive. I have only lost three subs to the dreaded AP bomb and one of them was in port at Soerobaja. Also, remember the entire RAN surface fleet was elminated by KB off NE Oz in 1942 trying to reinforce PM

[vettim89]

Aircraft losses. Two of the top three are Larry's most modern fighters with Tony's not far behind. These losses have been mostly in CBI but also over 100 A6M3a were lost around Tarawa alone

[vettim89]

Our top Aces. Lt Lo is our surprising leader. No. 75 RAAF Sq used to have average EXP in the 80's. Now it is in the high 60's. Should be seeing the USMC and USAAF pilots climb this list in next few months

[vettim89]

The situation as it develops in the Coral Sea region. Lots of empty base. Recon confirms Shortlands is indeed empty of LCU.

[vettim89]

Banda Sea region as we slowly build toward occupation of Timor