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Hi.If you are playing IJN in sc.17 and manage to take PM without significant losses and secure your defensive perimeter can you be satisfied or are you in desperate need for something more?
In other words have you a reasonable chance to delay the US attack in 43 and win on points?

If the answer is no, its seems there is nothing worth a battle for USN in 42 except defending auto victotry bases.But can IJN go for autovictory if USN is still at full strength?( If again the answer is no, it means IJN has no chance to win...)
In my games as IJN my opponents generally accept an ealy battle for PM , I wonder if they are rigth or if the better strategy would be just to wait and preserve their forces.

Difficult questions. Seems to me that you may be able to cause significant damage to the USN if you go for an autovictory base. In other words, if you have not drawn out his carriers yet, this is the way to do it. Course, it will depend on the time frame. If you are still in July/August, I would go for it. If it is later then I would try a feint to draw out his carriers but not actually attempt a landing.

In my one game that has gone to 12/42 I am ahead by 7000 points now. I sunk all the USN carriers for the loss of only two of my own, plus a couple sent back to Tokyo. (Basically, I have 3 fleet carriers and 3 CVLs left in theater.) So I feel I am in a good position to hold him off. But I am not going to rely on my carriers to win the day. Rather, my plan centers on my four surface combat groups to engage whatever landing he attempts to make, plus airstrikes by CVs and Betties to hit his transports. I want to hit him while unloading so hard he can't recover. Barring that, even if he does get ashore and gets a foothold on my side of the Coral Sea, I have been building up a defense in depth and have such a wide point spread that I feel confident of a victory.

Yes, a difficult question.

I was faced with the question a little while back in a PBEM.
Playing as Allies, I had lots of engineers on Gavignama building the base and maintaining aircraft when my opponent fast transported a brigade in.
I didn't have a lot in the area (15 ship surface tf at Luganville).
My opponent had virtually his whole fleet in the area.

How to hold Gavignama?
Should I try to hold it...is it worth it?

I resolved to try and save the base.
I formed a fast transport tf and transported a brigade from Luganiville to Gavignama escorted by a tiny surface tf of a CA and 3 DD.
Well, the surface tf was totally destroyed but the fast transport tf got through and the base and engineers saved.
A few turns later the enemy brigade at Gavignama was destroyed.

So, even though I lost a CA and 3 DD's my opponent lost a 7000 strength brigade.

Thanks for these detailed answers.
I realise just now that the situation that worry me is just the one you have in scenario 15. So if somebody has explored this scenario he can answer as well.
So, in scenario 15 (or the same situation reached via sc.17) what are the long term strategies?
Has IJN some chances to resist in 43 against a USN player who is patiently building his forces in 42?Is the auto victory attempt a necessity?