LargeSlowTarget
Matrix Legion of Merit

Posts: 4443
Joined: 9/23/2000 From: Hessen, Germany - now living in France Status: offline
|
I play the CHS mod, which has a wider variety of ship classes than the stock scenarios, which in turn makes things both more complex and more flexible - but the general idea rests the same for stock scenarios. I try to keep conyoy routes well to the 'lee side' of the Pearl-Johnston-Palmyra-Canton-Pago-Pago line, in order to escape KB raids against unprotected convoys as well as surface raiders and subs , hoping that the island chain acts as kind of barrier with patrol planes providing eary warning. Therefore I do not use Pearl as transfer point for southbound traffic, but only as local hub. I use short-ranged medium-sized AKs and TKs to supply CentPac hub Pearl and NorthPac hub Anchorage. Medium-ranged ships stockpile the South Pacific hub at Pago-Pago directly from West coast ports. Those runs usually are escorted by at least one warship for symbolic protection. The long-ranged ships run stuff to the SWPac hub at Sydney, unescorted and thus for safety reasons routed far to the South via Bora-Bora, which is being developed as a refueling point asap (on turn 1, I send all AOs to Bora and the first Eng unit available is sent there as well to built up the port). Outbound convoys fuel at Bora-Bora, then make the round-trip Bora-Australia, do NOT refuel when returning to Bora and are sent back to SF, where they arrive with almost the last drop of fuel. The handful of longest ranged ships are employed on a direct Panama-Australia run without refueling stop.Small short-ranged AKs and TKs forward supplies and fuel from those four hubs in small escorted convoys to the front bases in each area. In the Indian Ocean, I keep only a few dozen British ships of the short- and medium ranged classes for the Aden-Colombo and Aden-Karachi shuttle, as well as a few long-ranged AKs and TKs for single-ship runs between Aden and Perth for supplies, fuel and oil. The bulk of British shipping and all non-British ships in the India area as well as the survivors of the SRA delaying actions are withdrawn to Australia, taking ressources and oil from the SRA (and remnants of Dutch and CW land and air forces) with them when possible. Eventually they will provide shipping for the Australia-PNG-Solomons area (short-legged ships) or reinforce the West Coast - Hubs convoys (medium/long-ranged ships). IMO the most difficult task in the beginning is proving fuel to Australia - the few large tankers are sent there immediately, but it takes two months to get there...
< Message edited by LargeSlowTarget -- 7/14/2008 4:08:26 PM >
_____________________________
|