GreyJoy
Posts: 6750
Joined: 3/18/2011 Status: offline
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quote:
ORIGINAL: jmalter rough calc is 3 APA + 1 AKA per regiment. LSTs don't carry troops at all, use them for ARM & ART LCUs. 1st big hurdle in Amph ops is AmphTF composition, they can be up to 100 ships! it's v. important to have cruisers and DDs included, to suppress enemy defensive fire, but as these ships expend their hvy-gun ammo, you must cycle in add'l shooters for suppression. w/ 2-day turns, you'll need a greater amnt of shooters initially, since you can't cycle every turn. if you have sufficient DEs, consider using them in the accompanying CVE & ASW TFs. always turn on 'do not load fuel', transports & LSTs w/ fuel on board burn really well. loading for Amph is a prob - the screens don't show the 20% load-penalty for combat-loading, you've got to do some pencil-calcs on your own. even when i do this correctly, sometimes a significant proportion of a large LCU won't be loaded - usually the 'support' elements. you'll be wanting to bring along generous amnts of supply, too. So for pencil-calcs, look at each LCU's troop/cargo load-sizes, & multiply them by at least 1.25 (for minimum needed) but mebbe more like 1.4 or 1.5 (to include lotsa supply) to get that LCU's amph-load req'ment. iirc you said you have a ForceHQ, but don't have an AGC? i'm pert sure that a ForceHQ won't help unless it's loaded on an AGC that's part of the AmphTF. CVE TFs can accompany the AmphTF into the target hex, they won't take the shallow-hex air-ops penalty. Going against the 1000-Islands target, i'd assume you'll want to get in, unload, & get your ships out as fast as possible - in this case go for min supply load, & plan on a quick follow-up TF w/ add'l supplies ASAP. for these TFs, think about Mission Speed to a hex adjacent to the target, way-pointed to arrive on the 2nd day of your 2-day turn. then in orders for D-day, switch to full-speed to maximize unloading time during the next night turn. your assault on 1000 is a hvy tac prob - it doesn't look like you'll be faced w/ subs, but BB/CA TFs will react, & presumably multiple IJN MTB flotillas are available at the push of a button. so i'd advise you forgo pre-landing BBTF bombardments on D-day, keep your bigboys available to defend the AmphTF. So to load a division (3 regiments) i'll need 9 APAs and 3 AKAs...gosh...!!! too much :-/ Ok, well, i'll use some xAPs too so.... However my idea is to bring the 4 Old BBs and some old CAs along with the Amphib TFs to supprress the shore guns, while my fast BBs will act as surface forces organized in SCTFs in order to protect the landing TFs against his surface raiders. CAP will be provided by CVEs and squadrons based at Tulagi and Tassafaronga, while the CVs will remain east of Tulagi, ready to come in if needed. Will be tough i know...the scale of this operation is already overwhelming me...but i need to start facing these aspects of the game I have one more month of preparation...then we'll be ready! August 25,26 1943 The good news is that CV BunkerHill arrived today, along with another fast BB (Alabama i think)... Now i have 10 Fleet CVs, 3 CVLs and 10 CVEs...not bad.... For the rest everything is quiet in the Solomons...he moved his CAs to Rekata Bay...probably another Rader's push is coming....we'll be ready this time!
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