StuccoFresco wrote: Mon Mar 21, 2022 8:01 am
Damn, that naval battle was savage; will you be able to recover, or are the losses big enough to force you into defense in the naval theater?
Leftist's naval invasion seemed poorly planned. Hail mary to get your artillery, or is he trying to lure you into your own naval invasion instead of committing forces elsewhere? A feint, maybe.
Short Answer from the Leftist Player:
Absolutely Larry will be forced into the defensive, and no it was not a feint in the initial phase. I counted his losses and my own, and they are extreme differences. Currently much of his fleet is blockaded in a port city on Southeast Kongwa Island. Given I have outnumber him at sea and on the island itself for now, it seems only time before they suffer the same fate as a DD flotillas which was in the south port on Kongwa island: expulsion and destruction by a locally far superior Leftist fleet. I was hoping to delay his Pangani armies, which are on an island, from entering the fight on the main continent. The cost is likely going to be two armies and their respective cities (Chunya and Kongwa) for two (Mwadui and Bayan Khongor). See more below:
Fun seeing the mistakes I've made - and some of the glorious moments come to fruition. Me and larry might continue this game - or more likely move over to the v9 of the scenario since we both encountered issues with naval bombers and the concept of more maneuver coastal defence units is appealing.
What happened was Kongwa city joined the Leftists, bolstering the army of Chunya (island to the east) which had been hesitant to make any major moves given overwhelming Imperialist forces in the region. To give you an idea of how bad it is, Larry could field up to 3 armies just from his capital on Pangani. Then he also had an Imperialist fleet from Tszaq (northeast city in desert), battlefleet from Pangani, and an Imperial fleet from Manyoni (city to the north of Kongwa and Chunya). In short, a full blown battlefleet and then the destroyer and cruiser flotillas from 2 additional cities. Not to mention the marines and air force of Manyoni, Pangani, and Tszaq all in the region. At one point I counted he had 6 battleships active in his battlefleet compared to my 4 (when they finally joined into the fight with the cruiser/destroyer flotillas of Chunya and Kongwa.)
With Kongwa city joining in, I immediately made moves west, southwest and south to try and secure some ports and blow the bridges. I further sent troops from Chunya but this was an incredible mistake in my opinion. I
dearly miscalculated with how quickly he'd push up troops from the west, and further miscalculated with how fast I'd be surrounded. There was one turn, for example, in particular I should have blown a bridge and moved back but refused to - and in turn lost 2 brigades as a result. If I had to redo my response: Evacuate Kongwa army to Kongwa island, while sending divide my recon troops out to blow the rail lines. Likely suicidal but it would delay them. Maybe also leave a marine regiment or brigade in the city.
The naval action was ... interesting. Long story short, I gathered up the fleets of Chunya, Kongwa, and Songea and then moved in to attack his slightly dispersed task forces which were bombing the **** out of me in the city. It worked because he was dispersed (but also has left with me an incredibly fear of dispersing my own naval units given how badly a deathstack action can occur). It doesn't end there however, and certainly not better for the Imperialists (larry).
I ended up retreating, briefly, my Chunya/Kongwa/Songea flotilla to an island to repair and rest. After a turn or two, I linked them up with my
own battlefleet from my capital and managed to secure some further decisive engagements. Currently? I have pinned what I believe to be the vast majority of Larry's fleet into the port city on the southwest of Kongwa Island.
Effectively, if you take what I can see and know and what Larry has said and told me before, I currently hold almost sole naval dominion. In practice, I'm only blockading a few ports and just trying to wipe out his fleet so I can begin to disperse even more while maintaining a core fleet (or two) to respond to any blockades which are assaulted/broken.
As for the city of Kongwa however? It was always utterly doomed, but its addition to the Leftist cause was a welcome one as Chunya. While its loss was certain, losing tens of thousands of leftist men and material trying to stall for time on the continent was not necessary. This is my biggest blunder by far and, while likely helpful in some ways in preventing an incredible mass of Imperialist troops on the continent, there is no doubt in my mind it will cause issues later. I won't discuss it too much in detail but... while not a 100% loss... its pretty close up there.
In retrospect? I should have evacuated the army of Kongwa to the Island of Kongwa (island to the direct east) and begun fortifying my Chunya island further while using the navy to wreak havoc. Instead, I got cocky and, effectively, that region would become a pain in the long term.
In the current situation, it looks like a trade of cities. I'm pincering the cities in the west with overwhelming amount of troops. Meanwhile, I'll lose Kongwa and possibly Chunya as well.
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On the other end of things, I experienced the same panic and joy Larry felt. I'll start with:
Turn 10
This was a particularly eventful turn.
Several hundred miles south of my capital (and possibly the closest city to my capital), Bayan Khongor renounced its neutrality and joined the Imperialists at the very same time the Leftist
6th Armored Bgd and
3rd Scout Rgt had been securing the city and outskirts.
Meanwhile, the Songea and Mwadui front erupted into violence with days of artillery shelling and bombing.
The city of Bayan Khongor currently lies mostly ruins after the 6. Armor Bgd there put up a valiant, and relatively successful, defense before blowing up the bridge in the middle of the city and falling back. On their heels, arrived the 1st and 5th Infantry Brigades to shore up a slow holding action. For a time there was a real concern the capital city was under direct threat and troops currently securing/moving towards non-aligned cities needed to be recalled.
Then the Leftist Reservist Army and 14th Army activated
In the subsequent roughly 2 weeks (hitting now roughly Turn 15), the 14th Army and the Reserve Army arrived via rail to bolster the already three infantry brigades and the 6. Armor which had been holding position around hundred fifty miles northwest from the city. already near the city in the west. To the southeast, Leftist recon cleared rails. To the east, the IV Corps was re-routed from its and begins advancing at fast pace towards the city. Much like I experienced in Kongwa, Larry's Imperialists in the city and region of Bayan Khongor are swiftly being flanked, facing heavy assault, and swamped through the sheer numbers of troops a capital city and put out.
