The Good The Bad & The Indifferent

[Lowpe]

ORIGINAL: obvert

I'd have a hard look at your SIGINT for Indochina and see if anything along the coast is open. If so, take it now!! As Allies at this stage if you have a base and can pile on units and build it quickly, the Japanese can't do much about it. [:)]

Come on Obvert, I don't the Allies need encouraging at this stage of the game. Send the plans off to a committee for analysis; the important thing is for the Allie to slow down, access the situation, take a deep breath, have some r&r.[:)]

[DW]

10. John hasn't used his kamikazes yet. And, from his recent post on the main AE page, I know he has Sams now.

For a second, I read "Sams" as "SAMs"...

I'm like... "Wait... What? John really did go to town on this mod!" [:)]

[Grfin Zeppelin]

ORIGINAL: DW

10. John hasn't used his kamikazes yet. And, from his recent post on the main AE page, I know he has Sams now.

For a second, I read "Sams" as "SAMs"...

I'm like... "Wait... What? John really did go to town on this mod!" [:)]

Lmao [X(]

[Canoerebel]

5/14/44

Fun House: CV Lexington takes a torp near Palawan, where John did a good job setting up a sub bushwhack. I walked into it. I did have lots of ASW, which claimed one of the subs. DD Ammen also ate a torp, taking heavy damage.

The invasion of Balabac is unopposed and the base is vacant. Puerto has a small infantry unit. My guys there won't attack tomorrow because they still have elevated fatigue.

Tomorrow, amphibious TFs will hit Beaufort (near Miri), which I think is vacant, and Sandakan (north Borneo), which I think has a very weak garrison.

I had originally intended for 6th Aussie to hit Miri (not Puerto Princesa).

Burma: Pegu falls with the IJA troops taking moderately heavy damage. The enemy garrison at Rangoon takes heavier losses, nearly 50%, and should evaporate tomorrow. That includes 18th Div.

Short/Medium Term Plans: With CVs Sumatra and Lexington damaged and CVE Chenango sunk, I'll reign in my activities a little bit more. That's 210 aircraft that aren't available now. So rather than leaping forward boldly, Fun House will focus more on the immediate environment: Luzon, Mindanao, northern Borneo.

After the invasions of Sandakan and Beaufort, it'll be time to escort some empty transports to the DEI, where loaded transports and some combat ships await.

[Capt. Harlock]

ORIGINAL: DW

10. John hasn't used his kamikazes yet. And, from his recent post on the main AE page, I know he has Sams now.

For a second, I read "Sams" as "SAMs"...

I'm like... "Wait... What? John really did go to town on this mod!" [:)]

Actually, maybe that should be an option:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Funryu

[Capt. Harlock]

Burma: Pegu falls with the IJA troops taking moderately heavy damage. The enemy garrison at Rangoon takes heavier losses

Does this mean that the Burma road is now open to the Allies again? Is supply getting to northern China?

[Canoerebel]

Well, it's not open yet. I've taken Rangoon and Pegu, so the line is open. But I have no supply at either base. I have xAKs lined up to bring in supply, but I think John's looking for them (I bet the alertness is a function of his AAR readers). It's going to take some time to secure the line and get the supply flowing. Part of the problem is Port Blair, which can send strike aircraft against the sea lanes. I'm not touching Port Blair for a long time to come (if anyone's tempted to ask, "Why not?", you'll just have to trust me that it aint in the cards for awhile).

[BillBrown]

I had to actually get the enemy units out of both cities before the road was listed as open.
CR, the 500 supplies per day that flow on the Burma road do not use any of your supplies in Rangoon.
They just magically appear.

[Canoerebel]

Oh. I like magic, then.

[JohnDillworth]

Oh. I like magic, then.

yeah, like magic. Still you can get TONS more supply into China if you floor Rangoon and have bases and HQ units pull it along the line. You should have no shortage of xAK's so you might want to try one at a time every day and just set up a line going in. The alternative is Long Range CAP for a convoy. What's the British fleet doing these day? They would be able to escort some stuff in

[Canoerebel]

Can't go into details for OpSec reason, but every ship is on the map and doing significant duty. I have some ships ready to go to Rangoon, but I don't have the luxury of ramming them in despite the losses.

Both sides have suffered heavily in ships lost during the game (compare our Intel screen to Obvert vs. Sqz, for instance). I have long, long LOCs to support the activity in the Philippines. I think it would be inefficient to withdraw ships and move them (it'll be a long, slow journey to the Bay of Bengal) to get supply to Rangoon. I'm beginning to shift more ships to SEAC, but it'll take awhile. So, for now, I'm left with hammering enemy airfields and dealing with Port Blair in some fashion (probably by covering convoys with LRCAP, as you suggest).

One of the amazing things about this game, to me, has been that I have had every ship employed for a year now. There are no reserves anywhere (except Pearl Harbor, for ongoing missions). There are a zillion ships doing things everywhere. And all missions are vital.

[Lokasenna]

If the infantry unit at Puerto has no bombardment-capable guns... it won't bombard.

[crsutton]

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

Well, it's not open yet. I've taken Rangoon and Pegu, so the line is open. But I have no supply at either base. I have xAKs lined up to bring in supply, but I think John's looking for them (I bet the alertness is a function of his AAR readers). It's going to take some time to secure the line and get the supply flowing. Part of the problem is Port Blair, which can send strike aircraft against the sea lanes. I'm not touching Port Blair for a long time to come (if anyone's tempted to ask, "Why not?", you'll just have to trust me that it aint in the cards for awhile).

Supply will flow from Ramree into the interior.

[Canoerebel]

5/15/44

Fun House: A noisy day fraught with conflict, beginning with a long series of enemy subs targeting Death Star TFs. All of these turned into anti-submarine warfare clashes, with the subs unable to target any big ships. Two enemy subs were heavily damaged, one of which was later sunk by a USN sub. (John's subs have taken heavy losses in the game, but undoubtedly he has a lot more to throw into the fray.)

The two invasions go pretty well and Balabac Island auto-flips, so the Allies now have something to show for the effort.

I hope tomorrow will be noisier. Naga is now a level 9 airfield, like Legaspi. I brought in another 150 4EB and 2EB. Some of these will help against Manila, but many others are supporting tomorrow's attacks at Tacloban and Puerto Princesa (if they fly - always a question in the tropics).

Beaufort is vacant, but John's had a unit in adjacent Brunei moving there for quite some time. My hope is that it might auto flip before his unit arrives.

Burma: One more day and the tattered remnant of the enemy army at Rangoon should disappear. Only 8k of the original 35k remaining.

Supply and Fuel: The Allies are in a good position to make use of the big airfields on Luzon now. I have a good amount of supply to handle the campaign; and I think I have enough fuel to handle fleet operations for quite some time. Supply ships are ready to bring more.

But demands on the logistical system will be very high. With the carriers damaged now so that DS is not quite as potent, I think it's a good idea to transition over to a strong combined campaign to deal with the Philippines and northern Borneo through the medium term, while waiting for John to pounce with KB. He's had time to configure his thoughts. He'll be coming - maybe not for a week or a month or two months - but he's coming. So I'll try to keep a wary eye out while working industriously to gut his position in the Fun House AOO.

[Canoerebel]

In checking over the map prior to closing out the turn, I noticed that Vinh, Vietnam, is vacant. Lashio Brigade at Pegu is 100% prepped for Samah, but John just reinforced that target. It'll para-assault Vinh tomorrow. This follows up on the para-assault of Luangprabang (John is now reconning that base) and the auto-flip of Vietiene. I don't have the troops to withstand a major counterattack, but the objective is simply to reinforce the notion that I am interested in coastal Vietnam.

Japanese troops evicted a Chinese unit from Nanning today, eradicating the little supply-blocking effort.

[Lowpe]

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

It'll para-assault Vinh tomorrow.

That will be a nasty blow.[X(] Boggles my mind it is empty after the taking of the base to the north.

[DRF99]

Now that you're in Borneo, those gallant Dutch survivors will get some beer and cheese to go with the roots and grubs they've been surviving off off since early 1942!

Holding Vihn and Luangprabang cuts off both rail and road connections between Hanoi and Saigon. It's hard to believe that all the coastal bases aren't garrisoned with at least something.

[BBfanboy]

ORIGINAL: DRF99

Now that you're in Borneo, those gallant Dutch survivors will get some beer and cheese to go with the roots and grubs they've been surviving off off since early 1942!

Holding Vihn and Luangprabang cuts off both rail and road connections between Hanoi and Saigon. It's hard to believe that all the coastal bases aren't garrisoned with at least something.

John drew away troops to counterattack on Celebes, then sent some more forward to contest clear territory in Burma, then had to scramble to reinforce around the Philippines. He does not have enough units to handle all these locations, let alone garrison hexes that seem remote from "the front". As Dan has pointed out, he tends to fight forward rather than think about how the enemy could hurt him and cover that.

[Lokasenna]

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

In checking over the map prior to closing out the turn, I noticed that Vinh, Vietnam, is vacant. Lashio Brigade at Pegu is 100% prepped for Samah, but John just reinforced that target. It'll para-assault Vinh tomorrow. This follows up on the para-assault of Luangprabang (John is now reconning that base) and the auto-flip of Vietiene. I don't have the troops to withstand a major counterattack, but the objective is simply to reinforce the notion that I am interested in coastal Vietnam.

Japanese troops evicted a Chinese unit from Nanning today, eradicating the little supply-blocking effort.

Indeed, you don't need prep for para assaults.

[Lokasenna]

ORIGINAL: Lowpe

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

It'll para-assault Vinh tomorrow.

That will be a nasty blow.[X(] Boggles my mind it is empty after the taking of the base to the north.

It doesn't seem like John has all that much behind Burma. No defense in depth because he's concentrated on trying to smash the Celebes and whatnot.