Aussie Affair, Beta's Twilight

[WiTP_Dude]

It's looking very good for Raverdave right now. Are there "anti-gamey" house rules in place that are slowing Luskan down? It's hard to believe there hasn't been more conquest by the Japanese at this point.

[Raverdave]

No house rules are in force. Luskan is simply marching to the beat of his own drum (eventhough he can't hold a beat[:D]). We are now very near the end of April'42, and at this point Luskan is massing to to take Java. Apart from his early land grag at Rabal, he has not yet moved further south from there. PNG is still in Allied hands but with the forces that I now have at PM to would take a VERY large operation to dislodge me....something along the lines of the assault on the PI. The question is will he even bother? The other problem that Luskan has to the strength that I also now have in Noumea, nearly three full divisions and they are well stocked. So if Luskan does make a move towards PM he will have to be strong enough to counter my moves up the Solomon Island chain.

Added to this is the fact the I will soon be able to exert a lot of pressure on Bananana boy in Burma. He currently has about 2 Divisions close to Mandalay but these are not enough to take the place, where as I am at the point where I will be able to think about forcing him back. The question is will this move be to soon?

China is also an open sore for Luskan, I have units in the next hex of nearly every city in China simply sitting there gathering intel. I am sure that this is getting under Luskan's skin. Further to that there are plans now in place to launch raids on the Japanese LOCs in china. The Chinese airfarce is also slowly building in strength and experiance. Within the next six months they will be ready to launch some rather large air raids and hopefully put some dents on ratbrain's resources and factories in China.

[Luskan]

Bah - anything that brings chinese planes and pilots into Nate range (all super elite pilots now) is welcome.

As for why things are going so slow? Well in real life this battle had never been fought before. The allies were shocked and awed and didn't really know exactly what they were up against for the first few months.

Raver on the other hand has fought this battle against me several times before, and he knows the jap OOB and capabilities far better than the allies ever did during WW2. When playing the aggressor that makes things difficult. Especially in China.

In Burma . . . Well I've got firepower in Burma now so I'm not too concerned. I know the allied OOB and the total strength they can have in Burma by when. I also know what Raver has at Akyab and a fair idea of Mandalay. I planned for enough firepower to hold what the allies would have in burma on 6/43 (when I have my crushing CV victory) and I've already got my troops in position. Raver on the other hand has another 14 months to go before he has the firepower that I budgeted to defeat him with.

DEI doesn't require nearly as many troops as I used in my concurrant PI and Malayan invasions, and this is where a lot of the excess has gone. The other point in the argument is that I didn't take nearly enough of burma early on. This will hurt later on but not yet.

[Raverdave]

Foolish bananananananana ! I've got 3000 assault points worth of troops sitting at Mandalay and I can swat you like a fly anytime I choose. Infact I was thinking of moving now but on second thoughts I'll wait for a few more Brit divisions so that i can really "shock&awe" you.

[Raverdave]

There has been very little action over the last three to four days which as far as I am concerned is good news for me. Radio intercepts have not shown any big increase in traffic, so I am of the opinion that Luskan is trying to get his units rested and replenished. The RAF got a nice surprise with a flood of replacement aircraft arriving in India......good news for the bomber and fighter squadrons. The RN though, got a bit of a kick in the teeth with the First Sealord ordering 2 DDs and one BB back to the MTO. Ah well what you loose on the down swing you win on the up swing.

[Luskan]

Moving a few units into position, CVs have had a quick refit, but they haven't had any repair time yet. That will wait for after DEI is mine mine mine.

[Raverdave]

Well that is a given[8|] How about showing me something brillant? So far you have not done anything more than happened in real life !

[Luskan]

Folks, this guy is a liar. Proven more than once on these forums.

It has been all quiet on the FRONT but behind my lines things have been going ape shit for several weeks now.

For starters, I've reconned every inch of Java. Admittedly, I've only been doing 2 plane sweeps (as opposed to sending 10 planes to each hex twice a day - tends to give a lot away). Raver seems to have been lying his cheating arse off. I think there are perhaps a dozen units in the entirety of Java. Several bases are completely empty, there are 4 units at soerbaja, 3 at batavia, and a few more scattered around the place. I could have taken the place months and months ago.

Now if he doesn't have any firepower on the ground, and he's short of base forces in Oz (where he probably has them piled as high as he can to support future heavy bomber ops), he probably doesn't have ANY base forces in the DEI. If he doesn't have the base forces, he doesn't have the airpower, which means he probably isn't packing CVs in the near area. Formidable was just going to be a bluff I think, like his whole Java defence slump.

The whole thing was a bluff to keep me from going in early, and giving him HOW much time to reinforce his defences behind the river in Burma, pack troops into northern Oz, PNG, Noumea, G.C. Means he's got himself a free 2 months. Probably moving up his all out allied offensive date from 6/44 to 6/43.

My plan: Steal Java faster than you can say "Here come the japs" and then pull a nice big sliding offensive across the map down the island chain to northern Oz. Whether I get to the mainland, or not, depends on when I get there. Then we'll have to see about the solomons and PNG. There aren't any resources there, but I'd prefer to fight Raver out there than out in the vastness of the pacific.

I have been running a little op in the north - Raverw will spot it sooner or later, but until then I'll just jave to leave you all handing.

[rroberson]

So what you are saying is someone would lie about their force dispositions in a public forum...no way...i just dont believe it! [:D]

[Nikademus]

anything's possible where the Banana is involved......

[Raverdave]

Oh dear I've been sprung ![:D] Well Luskan is partly correct anyway. Yes I have for months now been saying how the seas and land on and around Java will run red with the blood of Japanese troops has all been a hoax designed to give me time to build the defenses of Oz and PNG. I have tried to reinforce this hoax by even sending empty AK TFs to make it look like I was unloading and building up the area. I never have had any desire to seriously defend Java, and have infact been leeching as much supplies and fuel out of there that I could. I have left Dutch troops on the Island as the Dutch Government would never allow the place to be simply handed over with out a fight, but I have pulled out most of the base and airfarce units to bollster my defenses in Oz.

If Luskan really wants to try and land in Oz he is most welcome to, the whole place is just one hugh jap-trap designed to suck in as many Jap troops as possible and then kill them! I have had 6 months to plan and build my defenses and unlike Java, I have not spared anything.
It would make a nice change to be able to fight him on a land mass where HIS back is to the sea. ( Nope I think that any attempt to invade Australia would have to be on of the biggest and most stupid blunders that Luskan could ever make.)

The same goes for PNG and the South Pacfic......I have been busy for the last 6 months building up troops, tanks, guns, supplies and defenses. I will stop the jap !

Pffft....not really bothered about the North Pacific.....there is nothing there that can help the banananana boy's war effort. Any operation that he has planned in that area is simply designed to draw off my troops and naval units from other areas. I'll leave him to fight it out with the polarbears.

[Luskan]

Well, suddenly the thousands of assault points I had allocated for the Javan invasoin are no longer needed. I've sent 1 division to burma, another to thailand (with a few more garrison forces and engineers etc) and 1 division back to china where I intend to split it up, and use the 3rds to garrison behind the line bases, freeing up 3 more chinese divisions that are currently over-garrisoning those bases. Should have thought of this earlier.

It still leaves me with a dozen divisions and other large infantry units (mixed regiments and brigades etc) parked all the way across the SRA that were headed for Java. Raver's gained so much time via his lying that I can't really sit back with them now. I have to attack and soon.

I have a pair of mixed regiments, a brigade and a few thousand engineers (lots in the first wave) at my base on the tip of northern Java. They should be enough to roll their way down the islands without trouble. Too late in the game for Noumea assault, although I have dispatched a large force to Rabaul (where I've had 500+ assault points sitting on their arses doing bugger all) complete with surface combat units, air combat units, engineers and most importantly, APs. Should see some rapid expansion of my realm from there very soon.

Raver's playing the slow game, keeping everything out of reach and slow as possible. Not sure when he gets his p-38s, but when he does, I'm sure I'll find out how many b17s he's got sitting at Darwin.

[Raverdave]

Hehehehe................nothing brings a smile to my face more than knowing that I have bluffed banananana boy.....he should have used his recon resources better than he did. Tough titties.
But I fear that I am now about to feel the full force of Luskan's displeasure in other areas. PNG will be high on his hit list as will Darwin and the whole of the Aussie north coast. he might even risk a raid....invasion even at Perth. The Aussie invasions would be to only force me to react as he knows that it would sting my pride, but that is about all.
The Solomon Is are still wide open so I dare say he will thrust down south and maybe even try for Luganville.
My CVs are now undergoing their early '42 re-fit and so will be out of action for at least two months (6 weeks in the yards and then at least two weeks steaming for the South Pacific).
I still hold a good line in Burma so I am not really that worried about any new troops that he will be sending there. To make a real impact he would have to look at sending at least 5 fresh Divisions to make a breakthough, and then he faces a hard march up rough jungle paths.

[Luskan]

If I go to Burma, it will be amphib ops - the jungle paths just take too long.

As promised, now that Java is no longer in doubt I'll reveal my original plan for Java. I can't remember what I called the operation, but we could just call it operation frustration for now.

Even before I took singapore, I had a plan for the DEI. I was certain that if I was "slow" in arriving at Java Raver would take the opportunity to pour IN troops, not evac them. So when he started lying about the super firepower he had in there I thought everything was going to plan.

What was the plan? The plan was to let Raver pack every grunt, officer, medic, engineer and pilot into the DEI, and thena fter taking Bali and T! I was simply going to do . . . nothing. That's right kids. Nothing, zip zil and nada. I had lot of troops on hand ready to go for when the time was right, but I wasn't planning that for a long time.

The plan was to let Raver stuff java full of troops and then using my superior air power from Bali and T! and other places, cut those troops off an leave them to rot. In the meantime, my armies could be shattering china, burma, the solomons etc. Even Oz if Raver was crazy enough to commit Oz troops to Java. After a few months of starvation, Raver would be forced to make a choice. a: do nothing, loose lots of troops to starvation adn *eventual* jap invasion (thin, october 1942) or B: send in the APs to either supply them or evac them.

If optoin A, I culled plenty of his troops, preserved mine and got Java eventually. I have stated before my economy doesn't need Java anymore, so why rush to take it?

If option B, well then Raver wouldn't just send his transports in, would he? He's have to escort them and that is where I'd have my CV vs CV battle, with all the air support in the world on my side and none on his.

Unfortunately, none of this went to plan.

[mogami]

Hi, So your plan for Java was to let the Allies keep the oil/resource centers there and for good measure allow him to keep bombers in range of Palembang? (and all the other oil/resource centers in range)

I never think of things like that. I see enemy airfields and resource/oil under enemy control and before I know it I have transports loaded with troops escorting surface and bombardment TF and CAP and all the things that detract from sending units to Brisbane instead.

[DoomedMantis]

And its reasons like this that Luskan has never beaten me yet in a PBEM game[:'(]

[DoomedMantis]

By the way Luskan, where's my turn?

[Raverdave]

I doubt that Luskan would think of trying an anphib invasion of India/Burma. The RAF has been growing in strength the last few months and I have enough fighters and LRB to do him major damage, as well as now having 4 full divisions in reserve. And what is the point of Luskan even trying? the cost would to too high for very little gain i.e. no oil for him. Plus the fact it would simply drain troops that can be put to better use in the south pacific.
Oz is a possibilty but early gains would be soon negated by the large land forces that are in Oz. Luskan would have his back to the sea. Nope I cannot see Oz as being a serious target.

But what Luskan WILL have to do is to try and take out PNG and that is where I expect the hammer to fall next. The only question is do I have enough troops there to hold him? Time will tell.

[Raverdave]

While I'm waiting for my turn................Anyone want to lay bets on where my first offensive will be ?[:)]

[Luskan]

India is just asking for it. Not serious raids but nuisance raids.

I've started consolidating my hold on places like Sulawesi and the tip of PNG. Nothing serious. Batavia should fall in a turn or two (once I attack the place).