Avian aggression leads to murder most fowl - Sqz(A) vs. Chickenboy(J)

[SqzMyLemon]

ORIGINAL: Lokasenna

Really criminal of him not to clean up your stranded LCUs in Burma before this happened for exactly this reason. They might not be capable of much combat, but even just 1 AV can auto-occupy an empty base that he's left behind. This can be a cost to expanding too far, such as the common adventures to India these days.

And any of them can close hex sides and cut supply routes while you advance in front. Nice job!

I'm not sure I'd go as far as criminal, but it has made my life easier. I'd been feinting moves to cut the rail line to Ledo for what seemed like forever, but once I realised my offensive was picking up steam and these units could play a role, I set them in motion. The timing couldn't have been better.

I don't think Andre would see it as any lapse on his part though, nor do I to be honest. It's becoming clear that Andre had no intention of defending the Dimapur to Ledo axis. Then again, maybe I surprised him and caught him completely out of position and he's decided to regroup rather than defend the position at a disadvantage. I'll have to ask him sometime. Regardless, I'm thrilled at gaining my objectives for no cost. I'm not sure I'd completely cut and run if I was him, as now it means I can shift the focus of my advance to Kohima and Imphal. Moving directly on Chittagong is an option now too.

[SqzMyLemon]

Sept. 20/42:

India:

D+22

120+ Japanese bombers target British 50th Armoured Bde. in clear terrain northwest of Silchar. Damage is light and disruption high, but it doesn't prevent the armour from reaching Silchar. Another British armoured unit will reach Dimapur in 2-3 days. Ledo is captured by a Bengal BF and I've immediately started air transporting Indian 11th Division to the base.

I lose 8 P-40E's flying LRCAP over Asanol when Tojo's sweep. Sadly, the P-40E was completely outclassed and didn't shoot down a single enemy fighter. The good news is that despite the lopsided P-40E losses today, the Japanese suffered seven aircraft Ops losses. I call it even. [8D]

Australia:

Allied bombers fly today and destroy about 45 enemy squads at Exmouth. From the report, Andre is flying out elements of at least one of the NGU's. I may not have an opposed landing at Exmouth after all.

Thoughts:

Time to turn up the heat at Ceylon. I'll begin recon of all the bases on the island to get a clear picture of air opposition. I've already begun transferring some bomber units to bases in Southern India in preparation of an air offensive. Initial targets will be Jaffna and Trincomalee. I'm finalizing the OOB for the ground forces to be used which will consist primarily of Indian Divisions.

I'll reorganize Allied ground forces involved in "Risky Business" as the current situation demands a shift in priorities. With just Dimapur and Jorhat to liberate against no opposition, new targets need to be assigned. For all intents and purposes, operation "Risky Business" will successfully conclude in a matter of days. It appears Rebecca plans a steamy train ride to Ledo once the rail line is clear.

[Lokasenna]

ORIGINAL: SqzMyLemon

ORIGINAL: Lokasenna

Really criminal of him not to clean up your stranded LCUs in Burma before this happened for exactly this reason. They might not be capable of much combat, but even just 1 AV can auto-occupy an empty base that he's left behind. This can be a cost to expanding too far, such as the common adventures to India these days.

And any of them can close hex sides and cut supply routes while you advance in front. Nice job!

I'm not sure I'd go as far as criminal, but it has made my life easier. I'd been feinting moves to cut the rail line to Ledo for what seemed like forever, but once I realised my offensive was picking up steam and these units could play a role, I set them in motion. The timing couldn't have been better.

I don't think Andre would see it as any lapse on his part though, nor do I to be honest. It's becoming clear that Andre had no intention of defending the Dimapur to Ledo axis. Then again, maybe I surprised him and caught him completely out of position and he's decided to regroup rather than defend the position at a disadvantage. I'll have to ask him sometime. Regardless, I'm thrilled at gaining my objectives for no cost. I'm not sure I'd completely cut and run if I was him, as now it means I can shift the focus of my advance to Kohima and Imphal. Moving directly on Chittagong is an option now too.

This is true... but he should've left "minders" for these units. The RTA units would've been good ones for him to use since they're not very powerful, but can certainly handle base forces and battalions. He could've had 9 or 12 of them, split into 1/3's.

[SqzMyLemon]

Sept. 21/42:

India:

D+22

Sixteen Allied fighters are lost defending Rangpur against sweeping Tojo's. I estimate only 6 Tojo's were shot down. The good news was that pilot losses amounted to five wounded, no KIA, and the bulk of the aircraft destroyed were P-39's and P-40E's. The P-38's and P-40K's performed well once they arrived. The problem was the CAP was not airborne at the time of the sweep and arrived in 2's and 3's to then get bounced. An oversight on my part, as not one aviation support unit at Rangour has radar...Oops! I've withdrawn the fighters, but will redeploy them once radar equipped base forces arrive at Rangpur. I went further by allocating radar equipped base forces to all forward positions and redeployed a number of RAF Group HQ's. I had assigned the majority of these HQ's to rear bomber bases, but realize they are needed at forward bases to facilitate effective fighter operations.

I have decided to air drop 2nd USMC Parachute Bn. on Dimapur tomorrow despite the fact a British armoured brigade should arrive at the base tomorrow as well. If I take Dimapur a day earlier, I can immediately rail in a number of units, including British 18th Division, to the base and immediately move on Imphal. I want to push hard and get established in a number of bases along the Burma border before a Japanese defence can be established.

In other news, the first British Chindit unit arrived directly at Madras and will immediately prep for deployment in Burma. I'm so glad to have Madras back in Allied control. Having reinforcements arrive on time at Madras and avoid the month long delay to appear at Aden, and the subsequent naval transport to Karachi, is huge! The second Chindit unit arrives in 10 days.

[BBfanboy]

Interesting that your Chindit units will arrive singly. I have just passed through the same period in my game and both Chindit units appeared at Madras on the same day. I have reinforcements set to "no variance".

[SqzMyLemon]

Thoughts:

Just thought I'd elaborate on what is happening behind the scenes for the Allies.

China:

Andre is applying much more pressure of late, especially in the south. He's investing Changteh with a division, but I hold the base with two large Chinese Corps and level 5 forts. Supply is an issue, of course, but I've decided to hold as long as possible.

In the north, I've withdrawn the bulk of the Chinese Army to positions east of Kienko. I will sacrifice the five Chinese Corps and two Army HQ's near Tienshui that are currently blocking 10 Japanese divisions from moving on Kienko. They are out of supply and will yield Andre some valuable VPs, but the delay they are causing is invaluable.

My plans for China are to defend Chungking, while falling back in good order towards Kunming. Other than those units that will be assigned to defending Chungking, the priority is to preserve as much of the remaining Chinese Army and avoid yielding large numbers of permanent VP's to Andre.

Further Allied success in India will have a direct impact on how I defend China moving forward. If I can get some supply flow into China, I'm confident I can hold the mountains.

India:

The Indian theatre remains the most active and well documented. Preparations for the liberation of Ceylon are underway and remains a priority for 1942.

Once operation "Risky Business" concludes, the Allied focus will be to isolate Calcutta while establishing a strong position along the India/Burma border. An early penetration into Burma will be contingent upon logistics and Japanese defensive dispositions.

Australia:

Allied intentions remain the securing of Northern Australia and the liberation of Darwin before the end of 1942. However, I remain cautious and fear the presence of KB in Java. A number of preliminary amphibious landings are planned for Exmouth and Port Hedland before taking on the main landing at Broome. The securing and expansion of Port Hedland will be crucial in providing support for the Broome landing.

Allied air power now in Australia is substantial. The problem is the lack of airbases within range of Japanese held positions to bring that power to bear.

Northeast Australia remains undeveloped in an effort to lull Andre into a false sense of security and focus his defensive efforts at New Caledonia and Fiji. I plan to bypass both and strike directly at the Solomons and New Guinea.

The Aleutians:

I've not made any effort to make this theatre active and defensive preparations west of Dutch Harbor are non-existent. The sole Japanese lodgement in the Aleutians is Attu. I have received SIGINT reports of various Japanese units prepping for various bases including Dutch Harbor. If Andre makes a further move here, I expect it to occur in early 43. I will not commit to securing the Aleutians until I have sufficient forces available and working torpedoes.

Central Pacific:

The Central Pacific theatre remains quiet, but not for much longer. Operations to recapture Baker and Canton Islands are currently being planned. These two operations will not involve American CV's and carry the risk of Japanese naval air counterstrikes, be it carrier based or LBA. The biggest risk as I see it, is committing the old battleships to these operations and all the problems they entail. Lack of range, slow speed and little to no air cover will make them extremely vulnerable.

Over commitment of American LCU's to India and Australia have left a shortage of units available for operations in the Central Pacific. As more reinforcements arrive and PP's are used to free up additional forces, the Central Pacific will become an active theatre.

The Allied Navies:

The British Fleet is about to permanently take up residence on the map, basing itself at Karachi and Bombay. The British Fleet so far has been critically short of DDs limiting its effectiveness. Upcoming withdrawals will reduce the number of destroyers even further, but what remains will be committed to the upcoming Ceylon invasion.

The American Navy remains split, with the majority of naval assets currently based in Australia, including all the CV's. Naval assets at Pearl Harbor consist of 6 BB's, 4 CA's and roughly 20 DD's. The first two Fletcher Class destroyers are en route to Pearl Harbor. The only meaningful naval air presence in the Central Pacific is provided by three CVE's, soon to be joined by a fourth.

It's time to get the navy into the war in a big way. I only wish I knew where the danger lies, but it's time to find out.

[SqzMyLemon]

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy

Interesting that your Chindit units will arrive singly. I have just passed through the same period in my game and both Chindit units appeared at Madras on the same day. I have reinforcements set to "no variance".

We are set to +/- 15 days.

[tiemanjw]

could you provide a strategic map?

For SOPAC, where do you plan to base this offensive out of - what with an undeveloped NE Oz, and no Fiji or New Caledonia?

I'd also be careful of putting amphib / support forces in range of LBA without aircover (CV or otherwise). If this is done, even float planes can cause havoc in your forces. If you are worried about KB reprisals, then just don't do it. An amphib group with a few BBs will draw out the KB just as surly as your CVs.
If you NEED Baker / Canton, and thus have to assault them, might I suggest having a force ready to go in the Line Islands (including 2 CVs). If / when the KB shows up at Java / IO / other far away place, strike quickly (use naval base forces at your launching base and in your amphib group to boost loading / unloading speed). This requires that you keep tabs on what he has there, while being careful not to tip your hand. Avoid recon / bombing unless you are able to do it to a whole swath of bases. Use sigint to determine opposition and guess fort levels.
Most importantly, only do this if you need these bases (either to support a later assault on the Gilberts or as a diversion), and not just because you want them back. There is no base the allies need in a macro sense.

[SqzMyLemon]

ORIGINAL: tiemanj

could you provide a strategic map?

For SOPAC, where do you plan to base this offensive out of - what with an undeveloped NE Oz, and no Fiji or New Caledonia?

I'll provide the strategic map for you tonight.

As for New Guinea and the Solomons, the base of operations will be Australia and to a smaller extent, the Gilbert Islands. The time frame I'm looking at for an invasion of New Guinea is March/April of 1943, and there will be plenty of time to develop Northeast Australia prior to that. It's rather complicated to explain, but I plan on a two pronged approach to isolating New Caledonia, the Santa Cruz Islands and Fiji from the rest of the Empire. I want to avoid the traditional way most Allied players assault Japan's perimeter. I don't want to simply push back the point of the spear, I want to break it in half. I will go over my plans in more detail during the remaining months of 1942. Essentially, everything I am doing right now is trying to set things up for a crushing blow in 1943, but making it look like I'm going to advance in the traditional way by first retaking Fiji, then New Caledonia, then the Santa Cruz Islands before even attempting to gain a foothold in New Guinea or the Solomons.

Taking Baker and Canton Islands is a key component in moving against the Gilbert Islands, but I want it to look exactly like some small time amphibious operations to simply retake these islands, or draw out KB.

There's method to my madness. My whole strategy is to provide Andre with no correct choices. Whatever he chooses to counter will leave him vulnerable in other areas. This isn't anything new, all Allied players try to take advantage of openings, but in this case when I have an opening I want it to be decisive. I can't really explain it better than that at the moment. The next few months will make things clearer as I put the pieces in place. Right now it's all about putting pressure on the Japanese perimeter and causing cracks to appear in the defence, right where I want them to.

[BBfanboy]

Have you been able to buy out enough units to non-restricted status to have them planning for all avenues that might open to you? Seems like a tall order to me!

[tiemanjw]

ORIGINAL: SqzMyLemon

ORIGINAL: tiemanj

could you provide a strategic map?

For SOPAC, where do you plan to base this offensive out of - what with an undeveloped NE Oz, and no Fiji or New Caledonia?

I'll provide the strategic map for you tonight.

As for New Guinea and the Solomons, the base of operations will be Australia and to a smaller extent, the Gilbert Islands. The time frame I'm looking at for an invasion of New Guinea is March/April of 1943, and there will be plenty of time to develop Northeast Australia prior to that. It's rather complicated to explain, but I plan on a two pronged approach to isolating New Caledonia, the Santa Cruz Islands and Fiji from the rest of the Empire. I want to avoid the traditional way most Allied players assault Japan's perimeter. I don't want to simply push back the point of the spear, I want to break it in half. I will go over my plans in more detail during the remaining months of 1942. Essentially, everything I am doing right now is trying to set things up for a crushing blow in 1943, but making it look like I'm going to advance in the traditional way by first retaking Fiji, then New Caledonia, then the Santa Cruz Islands before even attempting to gain a foothold in New Guinea or the Solomons.

Taking Baker and Canton Islands is a key component in moving against the Gilbert Islands, but I want it to look exactly like some small time amphibious operations to simply retake these islands, or draw out KB.

There's method to my madness. My whole strategy is to provide Andre with no correct choices. Whatever he chooses to counter will leave him vulnerable in other areas. This isn't anything new, all Allied players try to take advantage of openings, but in this case when I have an opening I want it to be decisive. I can't really explain it better than that at the moment. The next few months will make things clearer as I put the pieces in place. Right now it's all about putting pressure on the Japanese perimeter and causing cracks to appear in the defence, right where I want them to.

Makes sense to me. Baker is a good outpost to detect any invasion coming at the Gilberts, so it is required if that is your objective. Plus it is small, exposed, and could easily be interpreted by Andre as small ball. Hitting Canton next could appear to be setting up something for Fiji.
The Gilberts make fine bases and would be useful for your purposes. You can project power west or north from there and have comparatively secure SLOCs from Pearl and the west coast. I also like the NG / Solomons deal so long as you can support it. It sounds like you plan for that, I just got confused when you said you didn't have much infrastructure up there.

I would strongly advise keeping your "noise level" low, and striking hard and fast. Use sigint to build up his OOB, and hit the bases he is light at. When you go in, bring everything you need, dump in on the beach in 1-2 days (naval base forces are a must for this - put them in your APAs (seriously)). Embed BBs so they hit the troops and not the infrastructure - don't even bother with bombard TFs. Then disappear so if the KB comes out to play, all he hits is an established land base and few if any ships.

One more note. If you want to play the deep game, you must advance faster than he can retreat. If he plays SOPAC like he played India you will need to move fast to prevent withdraw before you close the door.

[SqzMyLemon]

As requested, here's the strategic map for you tiemanj.

[SqzMyLemon]

ORIGINAL: tiemanj

One more note. If you want to play the deep game, you must advance faster than he can retreat. If he plays SOPAC like he played India you will need to move fast to prevent withdraw before you close the door.

Most definitely. I don't plan on letting Japanese forces slip away so easily next time.

I plan on doing just what you suggest. Land with maximum force initially so that if the navy has to bug out, the land forces will be able to support themselves.

I'm looking forward to the planning and eventual implementation of this operation. I will be providing much more detail over the next few months.

[SqzMyLemon]

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy

Have you been able to buy out enough units to non-restricted status to have them planning for all avenues that might open to you? Seems like a tall order to me!

That's just it, I'm planning for certain avenues, not all. There's no way I can adequately plan for every eventuality, but I can plan for the ones I do intend on pursuing.

I already have adequate amounts of unrestricted units in Australia for what is initially planned. The number of units available will only increase as reinforcements roll in. I might add that I'm not including any units already available to me in India, but I certainly can if needed.

[SqzMyLemon]

Turn rate has slowed again. Andre's apologized for the pace and explained why. It's all good. As much as it's frustrating at times, I'd rather him enjoy doing his turns than simply flipping them out quickly on my account.

Feel free to ask for any information or screenshots to pass the time.

[SqzMyLemon]

I was looking at the reinforcement queue last night and was amazed at the number of British Air Wing units I'll be receiving in the near future.

I have about 1800 PPs and need to decide whether to buy out a restricted American division or splurge on freeing up more AA units and air squadrons. I'm leaning towards the division as I'm having enough trouble basing aircraft forward as it is.

[SqzMyLemon]

Sept. 22/42:

A quiet turn.

A Japanese picket PB was sunk northwest of Exmouth by an American DD I sent to do the deed. This is the second PB I've sunk in these waters. I wonder if Andre is concerned about a landing on Java.

After the flurry of activity in India, things have settled down once again. I need a period of consolidation and reorganization in India. Preparations for operations against Northern Australia are nearing completion and things will be set in motion soon. A large influx of American engineers has arrived in Australia and they are tasked with building up the east coast of the country.

I'm happy with the current state of affairs and on track to begin a number of smallish operations to improve my overall position on the map.

[BBfanboy]

ORIGINAL: SqzMyLemon

Sept. 22/42:

A quiet turn.

A Japanese picket PB was sunk northwest of Exmouth by an American DD I sent to do the deed. This is the second PB I've sunk in these waters. I wonder if Andre is concerned about a landing on Java.

Does André have Christmas Island (IO)? A lot of IJ players like to use that island as their flank security for Sumatra and they keep watch for any attempt to take it back. Was the PB position in line with that objective?

[SqzMyLemon]

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy

Does André have Christmas Island (IO)? A lot of IJ players like to use that island as their flank security for Sumatra and they keep watch for any attempt to take it back. Was the PB position in line with that objective?

He has both Christmas Island (IO) and Cocos Island. The PB's have been located roughly between Christmas Island and Exmouth, which make me think it's a trip wire for Java.

[SqzMyLemon]

Hey Pax, if you ever pop in here, blast me an e-mail if you could. I've been trying to PM, but your inbox is full. [8D]