Canoerebel
Posts: 21100
Joined: 12/14/2002 From: Northwestern Georgia, USA Status: offline
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Bullwinkle, that's marvelous! I've re-read your post several times to savor the layered humor, jibes and plays on words. :) I needed to clear some cobwebs this afternoon, so I went for a zesty mountain bike ride through a green tunnel on a green mountain. As is usually the case, the diversion gave me time to sort through factors and make some deductions. Those deductions may or may not be on target, but here's my reading of the tea leaves. Steve's moves in NoPac are taking a long time to pull together. He has not been particularly efficient or fast, even though he's already at Juneau. I suspect that this operation is slow unfolding because he's bringing in a big force from Japan, which takes time to transit the ocean. It also requires the protection of the KB. There are three possible targets: (1) a Canadian coast offensive designed to set the table for a strategic bombing campaign vs. American industry; (2) Hawaii; or (3) a massive invasion of southern California, meant to take LA and SD, destroy industry, and set up bombing missions against other targets. (Yes, I realize this triggers line-of-death reinforcements, but it's a possibility). Hawaii, as far as I am concerend is expendable. So not much that I need to do there (other than get the damaged BBs out of port, though that's easier said than done). I've taken about as much action as I can for a Canadian coast offensive. Steve can definately get the bases he needs, but I think a sustained bombing campaign might be more difficult - or less effective - than we might at first suspect. An invasion of Southern Cal is a thought that intrigues me. It's nuts, but it might be possible. I need to look at this more carefully tomorrow. The main thing I need to do is have decent ground troops in strat mode close enough to deploy. Also, where do the line-of-death reinforcements arrive? San Fran? If I'm reading the tea leaves accurately, the KB is on guard duty in NoPac. That would free the Allies to engage in some operations deep into CenPac - Truk and even Babeldaob. I'll keep that in mind. I am getting the feeling that Steve does not have immediate plans to leap-frog to India or Hawaii. Lots of little things suggest this - including the fact that four divisions are committed to Luzon and at least one to Malaya. This suggests that Steve wants to keep the Allies bottled up, but doesn't intend to blitzkrieg the area so that he can move on to Oz and/or India. (Now, he may have long term plans for either place, but time is on my side, so I'm more concerned about short-term at the moment.)
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