Thank you, guys!
Probably a little late to mention this, but if you want to reinforce Mindanao or Luzon from the inner archipelago don't overlook your PBY's. Based at Manila or Cagayan, with fighter cover, those seaplanes can shift a respectable amount of troops in the time available with no need to buy anything out. Better still, they are unrestricted and can reach Australia in a transfer, so they can work until literally the last minute.
I shall have that in mind, Mindanao isn’t lost yet. There is also the question of the force that was chased out of Menado. It has withdrawn to Sidate on the south side of the Menado Peninsula. I’m planning to use subs and PBY’s to keep them in the fight for as long as possible. If I’m not too much disturbed within the next two days Ambon should be relatively safe – some strong forces just around the corner. What I’m missing the most are some good Base Forces.
Re: Supply at Bataan. If you decide to hole up there and abandon Manila, use the 'Supplies Required' slider on the base screen to up the supply requirement. This will suck supply out of Manila and other Luzon bases into Bataan. Even with what has been used for combat, you should be able to stash a good 30-40 000 supply points there ready for the siege. Better than leaving it for the Japanese to use.
Actually, I’m already “holed up” at Bataan. Would have been nice to know – next time. Presently there is about 9000 supply points.
Chasing the KB at this stage is a bit like chasing a will'o the wisp. The AI tends to disband the KB when it reaches Truk after the Pearl Harbor strike. It then forms smaller CV task forces to support its planned moves. In the DEI it/they will likely sail around hitting key bases like Balikpapan, Ambon, Makassar and Kendari to soften these up for invasion. Later, it will switch to Soerbaja and Batavia when the AI is ready to invade Java. Other carriers may be kept at Truk to support an early grab for key South Pacific bases like Efate and Luganville.
Well, that’s obviously what it/they have been doing. It’s interesting to see how the game works, the AI is seemingly much more aggressive than the RL. Even then he is behind schedule in the Moluccans. In RL Menado and Kendari was taken around the 10th of January. At the same time they were stopped dead in their tracks at Mindanao. Here they have soon taken it.
In Malaya he (the enemy) is ahead of the RL schedule. If he uses much more time and resources on Mindanao and Menado he shall have problems getting past Ambon. It was taken end January/beginning February.
It's important to note that not everything the AI does at this point will be related to what you are doing in the Phillipines - it will also be following its own scripts and expansion plans.
I know, but my main point at this time was to prove a couple of specific points for myself, therefore I have just concentrated on the Philippines. The game is proving to be even more useful than I imagined even if it shall consume much time to adapt it perfectly.
About the BBs at Davao - I had two subs (the smaller S boats with working torpedoes - good for shallow waters) sit at Davao for something like 20 days before one of them put two torpedoes into BB Fuso. Fuso then left Davao, presumably on her way to a dockyard, but I had subs in all the hexes leading out of the gulf and in two attacks they put three more torps into her and she then sank.
I could have used some of the Dutch subs. My “agreement” with the Dutch allocates about 1/3 of their resources for the use of securing The Philippine Relief Route through the Moluccans.
Fred
