Meanwhile, in another corner of the multiverse (No Dmitry Z zone)

[BBfanboy]

ORIGINAL: John B.

And, every now and again the Chinese can successfully gang up on the Japanese. This was nice, but Dmitry did get some back by wiping out about 100 squads and taking Wuchow this turn.

@ BBFanboy, I think you may be right. He has stopped jumping onto islands in the So. Pac. and he has made no move towards Darwin. That plus the fact that so many carriers were in the Far East makes me wonder about India as well. I'm glad that I still have the Aussies there. I'm not making any big effort to protect Ceylon just because it's too easy to get trapped there. The American also have a division that is ready on the East coast to go to India as soon as PP are available.

Oh, and this just in. It looks like a SNLF just landed in Akyab. It's not defended so he'll take it.

Don't wait for the PP for that US Division. Just put it in strat mode and transfer it to Capetown without any Transport TF being required. By the time it get to CT you will have the PP to buy it and it will be that many days closer to deployment in India.

[John B.]

How do you transfer it without putting it on a TF?

[John B.]

Naval confrontation brewing at Suva. It looks like he's sending a surface TF down there (my guess is to bombard the airfield) and he has the KB behind. The ships that were unloading are heading south. Meanwhile, a wounded Warspite (hit by ariel torpedo with 17 flotation and 17 systems damage) and a very good admiral are leading a defense TF of Warspite, a CA, a CL, and four DDs. I have some radar and it's a very full moon so I hope at the least I won't get a Long Lance surprise early breakfast. I figure I have a slight edge in having Suva right there for wounded ships to disband into and I have way more planes on Suva with a better airfield than he does.

Of course, surface fights have not really gone my way, but you gotta start somewhere.

Suva BTW, is at level 4 fort with 38K supply 210 artillery level and 150 AA level. It really is turning into an early Guadalcanal down there.

My CD unit has been a disappointment. In the last shore bombardment it got off 11 shots even with 24 155 mm guns. Need to step it up guys!

[John B.]

Well, that sure was some pathetic shootin' Tex! Dmitry walloped me in the battle of Nadi. I wonder if the IJN even noticed that they were hit. I did get through to the merchant convoy and got in a few hits, but I was out of ammo.

And yet, sometimes it's darkest just before dawn because a mighty Dutch sub put not 1, not 2, but 3 torpedoes into the Ise as it was leaving the scene. Those, which included a magazine explosion seem to have put the BB down. The air losses the next day showed two dead float planes and I heard sinking sounds which may very well mean that this defeat was actually a draw and I'll trade a BB and two DDs for an IJN BB any day of the week (especially the Warspite which leaves for European shores eventually anyway).

But, still, that was pathetic shooting by a great admiral and a pretty good ship's captain.

[BBfanboy]

ORIGINAL: John B.

How do you transfer it without putting it on a TF?

The game simulates the presence of Atlantic shipping that can take your troops to CT. Same with aircraft. Just click on one of the squadrons at EC USA and look at the options for transfer. CT and Pt. Stanley and Cristobal should be there.

[BBfanboy]

ORIGINAL: John B.

Well, that sure was some pathetic shootin' Tex! Dmitry walloped me in the battle of Nadi. I wonder if the IJN even noticed that they were hit. I did get through to the merchant convoy and got in a few hits, but I was out of ammo.

And yet, sometimes it's darkest just before dawn because a mighty Dutch sub put not 1, not 2, but 3 torpedoes into the Ise as it was leaving the scene. Those, which included a magazine explosion seem to have put the BB down. The air losses the next day showed two dead float planes and I heard sinking sounds which may very well mean that this defeat was actually a draw and I'll trade a BB and two DDs for an IJN BB any day of the week (especially the Warspite which leaves for European shores eventually anyway).

But, still, that was pathetic shooting by a great admiral and a pretty good ship's captain.

Not really the admiral's fault. Ships slowed by torpedo hits are sitting ducks - the chances of the enemy hitting them are vastly increased and after the first few hits their system damage prevents effective return fire.

If you got a magazine explodes message during the torpedoing of Ise, she is sunk. Never saw a ship survive the explosion of her magazines. The message is different for secondary magazines - something like "Massive explosion", I think.

[John B.]

I'm much more comfortable blaming the admiral than the US player. But, regardless of the Warspite the CA and CL plus 4 DDs did not get any hits either.

Thanks for the tip on the transfers. I just figured it out. It takes longer than normal shipping but what a time saver!

[John B.]

Here the latest update on the score. Dmitry is, of course, smacking me around but it's early 42 so I"m not too worried. He does still have the big points bank known as Clark Field but there's nothing I can do about that. Overall, the air war seems to be going well. My Hurricane IIbs have been doing pretty well over Chittagong and the AVG has had success in China. As for ships, well, I keep telling myself that it is 1942.

[John B.]

As for China, we did have some success there in the hex northwest of Sian. He sent a division and 6 independent brigades across the river and took a big hit in doing so. I've launched several attacks (on of which killed about 300 of my own squads) and cut him out of supply for awhile and this turn I pushed him back across the river. so, for now I think that he's a little stymied in China. Once he gets the artillery and planes freed up from Clark Field and can pull in more divisions this will change, but for now the interior lines are helping a great deal.

[John B.]

I'm pretty happy with the So. Pac right now. He really seems stuck in Suva. He did manage to land 7 more units but I think it will be very tough and costly for him to push me out. I have 4 regiments and level 4 forts with tanks and scads of artillery. And, he's at the end of a very long supply line with a steady drip of losses to his ships. Last turn a CL and a DD took a mine hit and two turns before it was an AP. I don't know if any are sinking, but it's not helping. It's also making him use the KB to no real effect. It's been back at forth to Rabual (I think) 4 times now and has only launched one raid. I figure he's burning fuel and not getting any real benefit since my reinforcement convoys are able to run in when he's not there and I have 100+ fighters so he'd take huge losses to his naval aviation if he tried to get my ships in port when the KB is there and catches me. I think this is the benefit of getting most of his AOs. It's hard to refuel and go roaming down south or east where my ships hang out until he has to leave. I'd almost forget about Suva if I were him and just go into New Zealand.

[John B.]

Quick update. Dmity has invaded Ceylon (Sri Lanka to all you youngsters out there). He hit ever port except for Colombo. The Tricomelee CD unit is taking it's toll on the landing shipping and may take out an AK or two but there is not much on the island. Given Japanese Naval superiority I did not reinforce it so my strongest hex is Colombo with two Brigades. It does have lots of AA but I suspect Dmitry has at least two divisions coming ashore. I'll see if I can drag out the campaign a bit but it's a lost cause. ON the upside, when I regain naval superiority it become a vast POW camp. I guess he can use it as a springboard into India, or at least southern India. Not too many US troops on the way yet, but I did leave the British division and the two Aussie divisions in India so all is not lost.

[BBfanboy]

You should try to save at least a cadre of Eastern Fleet. Airlift or sub transport a few to the mainland and rail them to Karachi to regain the lost squads. Extra naval support can be very handy in that region.

[John B.]

As always, an excellent idea! [&o]

[John B.]

Ugh, I"m in the helpless feeling stage watching things unfold in Ceylon. I really hate losing those AA units since they are nice and huge but I just can't justify the risk of trying to run AKs in, keep them there loading and run them out again. Demitry would be sure (with the 200_ bombers he seems to have at Trincomalee) to wipe them out and any naval ships I tried to support them with. It would just be sending good money after bad. And, the US carriers are all upgrading which means there really is no way to stop his navy right now. So, India seems to be the target. Support troops and some air squadrons will be there in a couple of weeks from the US, except, of course, that with Colombo he might be able to maintain a blockade of India by running carriers up and down the coast and refueling and resupplying at Colombo.that I can't really counter. Any ideas on how to get stuff into India would be most appreciated.

[BBfanboy]

You can buy back those AA units, but it will take a while before there are enough devices in the pools to fill them out again.

Unless he wants to set up camp permanently in Ceylon, he will eventually have to withdraw KB to upgrade and to support ops in other areas. The key thing is to keep Karachi and Bombay. You can quickly deke into Karachi from Abadan and Aden. Most players do not camp on the map edge to catch TFs coming in from off-map as that is seen as an unfair tactic. If necessary, ask for a HR that SCTFs and subs must stay one day's movement away from the map edge,

Meanwhile, concentrate your air power and air support in Karachi and Bombay. If he decides to attack with KB, he will lose irreplaceable pilots even if he wins the air battles. And you might get a crack at a carrier or BB with your torpedo bombers. Also flood the area with lots of subs. KB may detect them most times but detection at night is usually poor and bad weather can ground his search aircraft. Use PTs/MTBs to draw air strikes and use up his sorties, then run your supply convoys in while KB is replenishing.

You can mass your British and US carriers off-map and spring on KB when it is depleted if you get the timing right. If KB seems too strong when you arrive on map, just go back to CT. You can bide your time, he cannot.

[John B.]

Excellent advice as always![&o]

[Bif1961]

Wouldn't warping the US carriers on and off the map edge be considered just as gamey as the KB waiting at the map edge for a TF?

[BBfanboy]

ORIGINAL: Bif1961

Wouldn't warping the US carriers on and off the map edge be considered just as gamey as the KB waiting at the map edge for a TF?

IRL the Allied carriers withdrew when they were up against a threat they could not handle - Wake, Guadalcanal, Colombo, the Med .

Coming on map at all gives the players at least one turn in which to clash. The IJN can make an 8 hex strike from one day's sailing from the map edge, and depending on progress from CT, the Allied player might be several hexes onto the map on the turn he arrives. Any ships crippled in such a clash might not be able to get off map next turn either.

Sitting waiting for slow convoys is another matter. IRL a convoy could be re-routed if a threat was detected around the area it would arrive on map but the game does not let you change routing while transiting from Africa to on-map.

[John B.]

While you dash on and dash off I don't think you can do a lot of back and forth. Sometimes I've tried to turn off map TFs around and the game won't let me.

[John B.]

We are heading into the end of March 1942 and I think it's a sad commentary on the fate of the allies that China continues to be our bright spot. I managed to give Dmitry another blooding nose, this time near Changsha. I managed to get behind two divisions and cut them off so that they ran low on supply. Unfortunately, he managed to break the blockade but not without taking significant additional losses. So far the interior lines are serving me well, but, he is slowly bringing in more troops from Manchuria and at some point everything in the Philippines will be available.