Australian Land Supply

[Chijohnaok2]

Question:

Can you cut off Allied land supply routes in Australia?

Here is the situation:

I'm playing the Japanese against the Allied AI.

I've captured Townsville and Charter Towers.

Allies still hold Port Moresby, Cooktown & Cairns.

Port Moresby is isolated and no longer able to be supplied by sea because of my a carrier task force that I have based at Gili Gili and send out at the first sighting of an Allied supply task force.

I have a 3CV carrier task force based at Townsville which will interdict any Allied supply task forces that attempt to supply Cooktown and Cairns.

I know that the Allies have a large number of C-47s that can provide some supply by air but normally not enough to sustain a major sized airbase/seaport for an extended period of time.

It is my understanding that Cairns normally receives some land supply via the road (that turns into a path or track) between it and Townsville.

Since it would seem that I have effectively blocked the land supply route for Cooktown & Cairns, is this land supply route eliminated and Cairns cut off from automatic resupply?

This is the first time I've managed to been in this situation and wanted to see if anyone else had run across this and what their experiences were.

Thanks....John

[mogami]

Hi, The land supply only goes as far as Townsville.

[Chijohnaok2]

Thanks for clarifying that Mogami.

May I pose a follow up question?

Let us say that the Japanese forces had captured Rockhampton instead. Would that in turn have cut off the land supply route of Townsville and Charter Towers if those bases were still held by the Allies?

Thanks....John

[mogami]

Hi, Capturing Rockhampton would block road supply north.

[Raverdave]

Originally posted by Mogami
Hi, Capturing Rockhampton would block road supply north.

And the rail lines?:rolleyes:

[mogami]

Hi, Since the roads in UV are the only routes north cutting them cuts the supply. In reality Australia has other routes to those cites. In WITP it will be harder to cut off a base.
The allies can still supply Cooktown, Cairns (or any base north of where the Japanese cut the road via using air transport.
Air transport works even if the airfield at the target is closed.
(The C-47's push the supply out of the AC without landing.[airdrop])

(one of the features asked to be included in WITP is the ability to airdrop supply into any hex (not just those with friendly airfields)

[Yamamoto]

Can you tell us if Australia has unlimited supply in WitP?

Yamamoto

[mogami]

Hi, Currently in Alpha version (very early in testing of this routine) there are 3 supply sources (for shipment via auto routine)
Japan Osaka

Allies USA (base on US East Coast connected by rail to auto supply port San Fransico (transports placed in SF can be assigned to auto supply)

Karachi (connect by rail to off map) Ships placed in Karachi can be assigned to auto supply.

The auto supply ports will use ships assigned to system to produce TF. TF will then sail to bases that have been selected to receive supply/fuel.

Japanese auto supply TF's after delivering supply to select base check to see if there is a oil/resource base on route back to Osaka and will stop to pick up oil/resource rather then return to Japan empty.

The Allies do not require oil/resource shipments (at least I do not think they do)

I believe other bases in Home Island's also produce fuel and supply. They are connected to Osaka by rail.

Only the USA base produces supply (It is connected to US West Coast bases by rail)

I think Karachi gets it's supply by the same method (supply is produced off map, moves to Karachi by rail )

It appears to me very possible for many bases (both Japanese and Allied) to experiance supply/fuel problems if not properly managed. (Be carefull about starting too many construction projects. Running TF's around for no reason. Flying too many missions ect.)
Once sufficent ships placed in supply ports and assigned to auto supply system (low supply bases have supply in red) Players
will not have to worry about it. But it takes a while to get functioning. You can still build transport TF in port with supply and send it your self where needed.

The auto supply system is not like Pac War in that WITP auto TF's have to actually traverse the map same as other TF.

[Yamamoto]

All sounds good. Thanks.

Yamamoto

[Knavey]

Mogami.

I sounded like we would need to send supplies to Austrailia based on your last post.

Is that the case? Or does it look like the Indian Ocean will be a resource unto itself?

[mogami]

Hi, I think Northern Australia will want supply from Karachi. Whether it can travel outside Japanese air range is something I will examine during testing. Southern Australia will need supply that begins in SF. (The actual convoys to Australia might be sent from PH or other base where Allied player stockpiles it, but it will be coming by relay from USA base) Without the supply being carried to Australia it will be in supply trouble after a while.
(I do not think any base in Australia actually produces supply.)

[Raverdave]

Originally posted by Mogami
Hi, I think Northern Australia will want supply from Karachi. Whether it can travel outside Japanese air range is something I will examine during testing. Southern Australia will need supply that begins in SF. (The actual convoys to Australia might be sent from PH or other base where Allied player stockpiles it, but it will be coming by relay from USA base) Without the supply being carried to Australia it will be in supply trouble after a while.
(I do not think any base in Australia actually produces supply.)

Ok......I can hear alarms bells ringing. But before I go off half-cocked, I guess that I should ask a simple question..............define "Supply".

[Knavey]

I am with Raver...what is supply in WitP?

Is it fuel and supplies like in UV? Or is it other things also?

[Yamamoto]

Originally posted by Raverdave
define "Supply".

Supply, by all reports, is the same as in UV. Supply, to me, means the amount of resources needed above and beyond peacetime level to keep the war effort supplied. Even the US had to ration food and other essential supplies during the war. I don’t see any reason Australia would have been any different.

Of course Australia will be dependant on foreign supply in WitP, just like in PacWar. Australia is self-sufficient at peacetime levels but not for full war level. Besides, I don’t think they have any oil.

One of the main strategies of Japan will be to cut Australia’s supply lines with America prior to invasion. Historically that is why they tried to take Port Moresby.

Yamamoto

[Raverdave]

Originally posted by Yamamoto
Supply, by all reports, is the same as in UV. Supply, to me, means the amount of resources needed above and beyond peacetime level to keep the war effort supplied. Even the US had to ration food and other essential supplies during the war. I don’t see any reason Australia would have been any different.

Of course Australia will be dependant on foreign supply in WitP, just like in PacWar. Australia is self-sufficient at peacetime levels but not for full war level. Besides, I don’t think they have any oil.


Yamamoto

Well there is going to be one hell've a out-rage from all of the Aussie blokes on this forum over this. Australia had (and does) have it's own oil fields.....was producing it's own ships and aircraft, weapons,ammo, food...we were even exporting pig-iron to the japs in '38 !

[mogami]

Hi, If you guys start having fits over things reported from Alpha versions, I'll stop giving out reports. Aussies do have factories.
They just don't produce supply (the Stuff SWPAC consumes)
I doubt they kept the B17's flying.

[ADavidB]

Originally posted by Raverdave
Well there is going to be one hell've a out-rage from all of the Aussie blokes on this forum over this. Australia had (and does) have it's own oil fields.....was producing it's own ships and aircraft, weapons,ammo, food...we were even exporting pig-iron to the japs in '38 !

Raver -

Don't forget, from the US perspective, all you folks have are kangaroos, koalas and bush - same as we up here in Canada only have moose, beavers and snow...

Dave Baranyi