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Here is the situation Scenario 17
I am playing PBEM with someone from work. This is our third game. He has taken both of the previous too. I am the Allies and he is playing as Japan.

The game has been a complete bloodbath so far. It is mid September 1942. He has lost 106 ships and I have lost 47. I have lost alot of 15 point Ap's and 4 light crusiers (not bad considering the all out bloodbath that this game has been. He has lost 4 CV's the BB Hiei and lots of transports and DD's.
I am in firm control of PM and I have the entire 1st USMC on Lunga.
Here is my problem. PM and Lunga are despertly low in supply. I CANNOT run convoys to them. He has 150 betties on Rabaul and 200 Zeros in Rabaul and the shortlands.
Both airfields and harbors are closed down and he is now bombing my men. Lunga has already lost some 3000 men (out of 26,000 I had on the island) and PM has lost about 1000. Both are down to about 500 supply.
I am afraid in the coming weeks he is going to keep bombing all of my men out and then invade both. That would put me in a very bad posistion.
Lunga has a size 5 airfield and PM has a size 6. I was going to get both to size 7 then move in 4 B-17 groups to each. I figured after I did that it would be more or less game over since I would pound everthing south of Truk.

What can I do? I cannot move in supply so the airfields cannot finish constuction.
I also cannot suppress those airfields. I have 5 CV in one TF but I dont want to risk them in range of any LBA.
I really would like to end this before 1943 (its a pride thing...he likes to trash talk)
I have him agaisnt the ropes right now. The Kirishma is badly damaged. 3 of his CVL's are badly damaged. The only thing I have had to send back to PH (of any major value) is the Lady Lex who took two torpedos.
Basicly what I am asking is how to supply PM and Lunga and then move in my B-17's
Once I do that its game over. He will surrender.

Thanks in advance for any help. And sorry for the rambling.

Well... In some ways you're in a bit of a pickle, but in my experience, it's not exclusively true. I assume from what you're saying that you've lost all or most of your idiginous air cover at both Lunga and PM? Either due to hostile fire or lack of supply?

My suggestion since you have a VERY big force of carriers on hand (my congrats on no losses) is to take them in a single TF and post them on LUNGA first and tell them NOT to retire (least until they have to for fuel anyway)... Then start hauling in the supplies... You MAY take some losses, but understand with 5 CV's you're going to have upwards of 200 Wildcats for aircover. Plus the fact that they'll be able to strike out with SBD's and TBF's at anything that comes into range... The aircover you provide will allow you to truck in the supplies you need as the CV's and CA's will be higher value targets and far more interesting to the Betty's than an AP or AK.

Simple fact of that matter is that you may have to take a loss of a CV or two to allow you to get the bases up to strength. With an influx of supplies, you can finish builds as well as repair local planes... THEN you can strike out on your own with the B17's you mention to surpress either Rabaul or Shortland depending on which base you decided to support.

IF after the first supply mission is successful you can repeat this step with the other. It's hazardous, but the pains result in gains usually.

Hope that helps [8D]

I have plenty of air cover for both PM and Lunga. But I have every plane ( I have 100 at lunga and 225 at PM) on stand down due to no supplies and losses.
My opponent has up to 125 Zeros he can use to escort the Betties. My cap simply get slaughtered if it tries to go up and intercept.
I will use your plan.
I will load the TF with CLAA (one of my favorites units...those things are mobile death traps for planes) DD's and CA's. Hopefully with all that flak I can avoid losses and deal a blow to his Betties.

I will report back.

I would suggest a different approach: Use single-ship TFs of APs and AKs - they are less likely to be spotted by search planes and even if so, the AI air commander doesn't seem to care about launching airstrikes against such uninviting small fry - not even if there are several single-ship TFs unloading at the same port at the same time. I have single 1500er AKs shuttling back and forth between Cairns and PM. I keep Cairns stocked using the bigger freighters and transports in ordinary escorted convoys from Brisbane - just make sure Cairns has decent CAP against long-range bomber raids. Same principle works for the Luganville - Lunga run. Biggest enemy of unescorted single freighters are subs and surface raids - keep LBA on ASW and have your own surface forces ready for reaction in the vicinity of the Milne Bay gap and near Irau. Use your carriers to protect the surface TFs from possible air attacks. Perhaps a gamey approach, but so is the use of a deathstar concentration of CVs as suggested by 2stepper, too.

Good luck!

I'd use those carriers to provide cover for the resupply TFs. I would not take the carriers into any port, but use them for air cover up to the last day. Then launch your land based fighters for cover as soon as the resupply TF reaches the destination.

Another option is to park a couple of oilers between Luganville and Irau. Then have 2-4 decent sized fast transport units resupply. You can get quite a good amount of supply up there and have the fuel from the oilers to get back to Luganville.

The single transport routine is very effective.

But it always seems like cheating with the game's targeting algorithms.

How is it? Fact is single ship in a big ocean is much harder to spot than a fleet. A more agressive solution (and riskier!) would be to use your CV TF to attack Rabaul with all planes. Will cost you but if you can knock out his airfield whilst your large transport TF lands supplies... Plus you might be able to split his counterattack. Should be much easier to land supplies at PM than lunga (so I`ve found anyway). I use 3 ship strong Convoys. Send TF`s containing MSW, PG and SS just to give him something else to bomb. If you could just get a few LBA raids against Rabaul on day/evening before CV strike might make things easier and increase fatigue of CAP. Even consider sending in Bombardment group of CAs to pouund airfield at night. But you will take return fire from coastal defences. Could be worth the losses if you are going to lose Lunga. And have you any bases between Lunga and Luganville to use as a launch pad for air supply using DCs and LBAs. PM can definately be supplied by air from Austrailia. Every bit of supply helps. Had another thought whilst typing this. Keep CV TF 5 or 6 hexes south of Transport TF as it lands supplies at base and set all fighters on long range CAP over transport ships. And transfer your best AA ships to them so that any air attack will pay big price without too much risk to CVs.

I would definitly go with single transport TF. I use a shuttle system out of Cairns to PM and Luganville to Lunga, Irau. Run big transport TF to keep supply up at Cairns and Luganville. I station 6-10 2000 capacity AK at each and use them to supply. FT will work, but I find that the sys damage is not worth it.

I use the big 3000 capacity AP to supply Cairns and Luganville. Sometimes I have to resort to 1500 cap. AK instead of the 2000 ones due to losses. Air transport will work, but it delivers very small amount of supply.

If you deploy all of the transports in single TF, if the IJ launch a raid, it only hits one ship at a time. I send them out in sinle TF, 2 TF per turn. That way if a bombard TF, SC TF or the dreaded CV TF come calling, I have time to run away.

I use do not retire for these TF.

Thing is, if you 7 transports unloading in a port, it shouldn't affect spotting/naval-attack whether it is one 7-ship convoy, or seven single convoys.

No think you are right there. So space out ships so that there is always 1 or 2 ships unloading at any one time.

Thats what I meant, I should not attempt to post when I am tired. I send out single ship TF, 2 TF a turn. That way if a surface combat, cv tf, comes a calling I have time to run away with the rest. I might lose 1 or 2 ships, but it is alot better than losing a 7 ship convoy. I have had the game since it came out and I have only lost about 8-10 ships using this method.

Just out of curiosity, how did this turn out?

You pretty much have this game won. Actually, you are way ahead of schedule and that is most likely why you are in this little fix.

Here is what I would do.

1. Start heavily mining the waters around Lunga to discourage his surface fleet.

2. Begin collecting transport and surface ships for your massive reinforcment convoys. You will want to send one or two massive convoys in at the same time. Your primary goal is to get supply (at least 30,000 units or more) and some fuel into Lunga. However, in these convoys you will also carry two types of units. All the AA units that you have available, and about three or four seabee or avaition engineer units. Another base force is not a bad idea if you need more support. Do you have radar at Lunga? Make your reinforcment convoys large and give them each a few DDs as well as SC and PC escort.

3. Make up a large surface warship escort convoy. CAs CLs and DDs (not BBs) Perhaps eight ships or so. (I do not like large surface TFs, they tend to do poorly in battle). If you have enough ships make up two.

4. "Do not" send you carriers to Lunga and park them there. They will just be ripe for a Japanese surface force to cream. Park them five or six hexes away from Lunga, and rotate your fighters on Long rage cap (two groups at a time). Always keep at least one group on escort over your carrier force. (bettys will usually not attack an carrier TF with CAP at that long range) Fast BBs cover the carriers-that is their only job along with CLAA.

5. Now send them all at once to Lunga. Direct your slowest supply TF to lunga and set Lunga as its home port. Assign all other TFs-supply and surface warship to follow the slowest TF. Make sure Lunga is set as the home base for all but the carrier force. Send the carrier for alone to stand off five hexes below Lunga. Set the carrier force on "don not react" and "do not retire"

This should work. The Japanese should attack and you will suffer some losses. However, your escorting surface force will soak up a lot of the bomber attacks and shoot down a lot of bettys and nells in return. If the Japanese send a surface force, your mines and surface TF will protect the transports. The supply and extra troops will get through, your extra engineer units will repair the base fast. In the end, they will repair faster than the Japanese can bomb. Then let attrition work it magic.

As long as you keep your carrier force intact- there is no real way the Japanese can retake those bases without suffering unacceptable losses.

Here is what I think I would do (subject to availability of assets/current position).

1. Getting your supply problems under control
a. Evacuate, using FT, some of your troops from Lunga/PM. If he has no ground forces there, you should be able to hold Lunga with alot less than the whole 1MD. One well supplied RCT >> one division without supply. Less troops means less supply required and more supply to allow your cap to fly.
b. Make sure neither PM nor Lunga is trying to build anything.
c. Move all your C-47's to Cooktown and fly supply to PM. You should be able to keep the place in plenty of supply, even with airbase damage if you use all your C-47's doing it. I usually have alot of C47's in the replacement pool, you just have to accept operational losses.
d. If you haven't already, build a forward supply base just outside range of his Zekes from SI and run in supplies to Lunga via FT
e. Since you have sunk so many of his ships, your subs are probably lacking targets atm. Press them into Transport duty for a bit until you can get supply under control. They do not carry much, but when you have 500 supply for all of 1MD, you need all the help you can get. You can also try basing one at Lunga and using it to transport a core of 1MD out to a safer location. If you lose 1MD, they will form the basis for reconstituting 1MD from replacements.
f. There should be *one* AK in every one of your forward bases at all times, unloading supplies. There should never be more than one ship in port. These AK should be based at a forward supply base just outside the range of his Zekes at SI.

2. Disperse your forces, giving him more targets to choose from and more things to worry about. He has enough bombers for the missions he needs to perform. So, give him more missions that he needs to perform. Realize that his bombers, while plentiful, are better anti-shipping platforms than anti-base. He needs alot more LBA to shut down an airfield than you do, because they have smaller bomb loads. It is alot harder to keep 9 level 1 airbases closed than to keep 1 level 9 airbase closed. You might try one or more of the following:
a. Opening up Rossel Island as a base. It can be built to a level 4 airbase and you can base B25's there with the range to hit Rabaul and SI. Nothing cuts down escorts on his bomber raids like having to put up more CAP.
b. Open up dot bases around Lunga and Tulagi. Prep them by sending singleton AK's with supply until you get about 10K supply into them, then send in engineers to prep it to a level 1 airfield. You can put the fighters on LRCAP when your transports are in the area and trasfer them back out when morale /losses require it.
c. Open up Tulagi as an airfield if you own it and still can.
d. Open up the small island NE of Lunga as a base (I forget the name). It too can be built up to a 4, and it can be used to base B26B's that can hammer SI.

Once you get these bases to level one airfields, send a squadron of fighters. Your opponent can't send all his bombers in to attack your singleton ships or he leaves Lunga/PM to regroup. He can't send singleton bomber airgroups, or he allows your cap to chew them up.

3. Whatever you do, I would not send my CV's in range of LBA from Rabaul/SI. Use them to keep him from landing troops or supplies at Lunga and to provide LRCAP from outside LBA range or sit them in Noumea until you can whittle away his fighter advantage.

4. Coordinate plans so that nothing happens for several turns, then all hell breaks loose. He has 150 bombers that can hurt you. If you send him one juicy target each turn, he will eat it up. Instead, overwhelm him with targets or give him none.

Oh, and move all but your fighters out of PM and Lunga.

Ok here is what happened.

I used the first idea since I didnt want to wait around and the one transport idea seems a little gamey to me, since 2 transports are always picked up.

Anyways, it worked out pretty well.
I sent in 5 CV TF and it docked in Lunga and there is staid.
I loaded up 3 giant transport fleets Each had the ability to take 25-30 k supply.
I also shoved in as many CA, CL and CLAA into those TF as possible.
I put CA's and the North Carolina into my CV fleet ( I am really glad I added all these warships as you will see soon).
All in all he sent 200 ( [X(] ) mixed Betties and Nells and 125 or so Zeros to attack my fleet. I sent up over 150 Wildcats and 50 or so P-400's and P-39's to defend.
This happened for 3 straight days. I shot down over 100 of the bombers and 60 of the zeros. I lost 80 (but saved alot of the pilots) Wildcats and 35 of the P-39's and 400's.
So his airforce is more or less gone. He sent in surface fleet after surface fleet to attack my TF. We had 6 night surface battles over a 2 day period. I lost 3 CA and 4 CL and a few DD. He lost another BB and 9 DD. North Carolina single handidly sunk a BB and 3 DD. She took 61 shell hits and was long lanced 6 ( [X(][X(][X(] ) times she had 97 sys damage (basicly nothing above the water line was left [:D] ) and 60 flt damage. I got her flt damage down and sent her back to Nouema and then back to PH. They tell me it will be 630 days to repair her [:D].
Anways. I dropped off all the supply and fuel and sped back. Two transports took hits but nothing over 25 sys damage. I sent various ships back to PH and reorganized.
Then I did it all over again.
However, I made my first mistake of the game. I completly forgot to set cap up over my CV TF [:@]. This might of been a good thing though...My cap didnt turn the bombers back so they met an a concrete wall of flak. 70 bombers came in and my flak splashed 36 and another 20 crashed on the way home. Sara took 3 torps and has 42 sys damage enterprise and wasp each took a torp but nothing serious. Im going to leave the sara in nouema and let them repair her as much as they can. He still has lots of CV's out there and the Yamoto.
I now have 90 B-17's one B-24 and 2 B-26 groups on Lunga. The dont bomb every day...but when they do its no contest. They level whatever they hit from the 17,000 feet I have them at.
I am going to reorganize and repair and then supply PM with an auto convoy (I dont fear LBA any longer)
Lunga says it needs 17,000 supply a day to run [X(] so will be hard pressed to keep it supplied.
My next operation will be to get PM running so it can cover my invasion of Gili Gili.
From there I will take the Shortlands and then finally capture Rabaul.

I have lost 5 CA and 6 CL and numerous smaller ship.
My opponent has lost 3 BB 5 CV ( [X(] ) and one CVL and even more numerous smaller ships.
I am finally starting to get P-38's into my airforce.
I am ahead by 200 points.
As long as I keep my mistakes down I should be able to methodicly pick him off by June of 43
Its late November in our game right now

Thanks for everyones help.
He isnt going to surrender...so it looks like im going to have to kill every last one his forces to win [:@]

Oh
As you can see...we both play a really agressive style of game [:D]
It makes for a really fun time, unless you are the men we are sending in to die by the scores [;)]

ORIGINAL: Fallschirmjager

Lunga says it needs 17,000 supply a day to run [X(] so will be hard pressed to keep it supplied.

I believe that figure is the monthly requirement based on the current demand, not a daily one.

You might consider taking some Jar Heads out of Henderson....and so less mouths to feed. A marine needs a lot of potatoes.

Worr, out