ORIGINAL: DOCUP
23rd Dec 43
I still suck as a player.
Burma
I have over 2,500 AV in the hex south of Taung Gyi. I am going to try a deliberate attack and see what happens.
Saumlaki
I won't forget this place. Our troops take it, Jap troops are still in the hex, I will attack again tomorrow. My CVs just might make it to Darwin. By the end of the turn tomorrow they should be 1 hex away. I did lose 2 CAs and a DD battling a 3 BB Jap SAG while covering the withdraw of the CVs. No Jap ships were sunk. That sucked but oh well.
Ok guys, time to tell me what all I did wrong. I know it took me to long to attack. I should of known that Koniu would of brought every CV in the Jap arsenal. I should of put all my CVs in one TF. What else did I do wrong. Also lets start talking about where I go from here.
Japs need oil. I could prep and send everything to DEI when I get some power back. Try the N home islands. Charge down Burma or into China. These are all options. I might even be able to go thru CENTPAC later on. Start talking. No more lurking in the shadows. I need help.
Sacrificing those CAs and DD might have saved your CVs. A very good trade IMO. [:)]
I´m not much more experienced then you are but here is my take on what went wrong. As you say it simply took too long to get into position and koniu had time to get everything in place. Since you were unable to get into such a position where you could do the invasion in 2-3 days it put you at a disadvantage from the beginning. Personally I would have scrapped the invasion when it was spotted already around Horn Island. There were several things working against you.
-While you had almost CV parity against the KB (including your CVEs) you not only have to cover your own CVs but also the Ampibs which is a distinct disadvantage.
-You had no aid from LBA while koniu had.
I always try and aim for a 2 day invasion. On D1 you are spotted. D2 you land and on D3 you are gone. Not easily done and requires a bit of help from the weather gods.
Its still to early to call the operation a failure though. You did get the troops in place and now have a solid base to expand from. If you manage to expand from that small bridgehead it would be a tactical defeat but a strategic win. As you say the oil is absolutely critical and you will soon get the first batch of B29s. With an allied foothold at Saumlaki you have very much but a knife against the Japanese throat.
Koniu will now have to divert a lot of assets (probably including the KB) to keep you pinned in place. This will open up other areas for you. Just try to keep the pressure up in the area so he can´t guard you with just a token force. You have 4 bases in the DEI now. Build them up to a solid platform from which to can expand. Where you want to go is Timor and its TWO level 9 AFs. This should be perfectly doable under LBA if you can get the bases built up.
I would look to open up a second front somewhere a couple of days sailing from the DEI. Force koniu to make the hard choices and divide his forces. GJ showed the error of an allied single vector advance when he smacked Q-ball around for a year.
If you can get those bases built up koniu is in big problems and it would make the losses worth it. Or at least not have made them in vain.
You are doing better then you think you are! You are playing against an excellent player and that is a big challenge. You have foothold in the DEI and its not even 44 yet! How can that not be good?! [:)]
