janh
Posts: 1216
Joined: 6/12/2007 Status: offline
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quote:
ORIGINAL: John 3rd Time to roll back Allied Fighter Cover. I control the skies over Ramree for the moment so I authorize the Kate Daitai in Moulmein to attack shipping at Ramree. The bombers up in Mandalay are now targeting Kalemyo. I am nipping at him whenever I can with my CVEs, using I-Boats rotating in different areas. These parts do actually sound pretty good. Burma is a good place to contest the Allied air power for a while and use the IJA air assets, built up pilot quality and so on. Since the British fighter replacements are not exactly ample at this point, and the British bombers not exactly tough either, this is surely a battle you ought to win. Contesting the air space over the coast seems to be the key to Burma, at least as far as his efforts to supply and build it up are concerned. Hopefully the Kates will find juicy targets are force him to bring up more fighter cover and LR-CAP over all TFs. I think this supply route is one you must strike with your CV sooner rather than later. Your zeros will also eat through all the TB and B the Brits may throw at them (after a naval hit, one could maybe stage a CAP trap at max range, swapping Vals and Kates against more Zeros?). I still think this is the theater that KB should be deployed to at this point. Maybe Dan has the American CVs spotted at Western OZ lately over here now. This, or they are somewhere in CENTPAC, perhaps enroute to NORPAC, although this would be a long travel in contrast to the IO. I know you fear him coming through NORPAC, but honestly, doesn't his deployment of LCU/BF/HQ, air and naval assets speak otherwise? I think you caught him flat-footed there, and if he intends to make this a major theater, then likely only because of that. Yet all signs would point at him having all hands full with his LCU stuck in the Gilberts/Marshalls, a crushed offensive in Western OZ, and a battle in balance in Burma. He either is covering-up NORPAC preparations perfectly, or he's not pursuing this actively. My bet is on the latter. In Burma he might be trying to pull the same trick like you plan: Using Ramree to out-flank you? If I read through your LCU deployment, I get the impression that is "nicely and adequately spread out" to match the Allied forces around. Which is, however, not giving me the impression of an aggressive stance, a Schwerpunkt with a clear goal. I still like your thoughts about going for Akyab in strength. That would have the added benefit of having lots of LCU near Ramree, in case he starts to push eastward from there. My experience with supporting LCU on the seconadary road past Ramree to Akyab isn't the best, but I think it should be doable if you focus all IJA air assets in this theater. If you could manage to get Akyab and threaten Cox Basar, he will have a real crisis at hand. Both places are in Oscar/Zero range, so that you could even get another chance to put a dent in his bomber fleet, and both will surely have him bring out all bombardment assets he has -- opportunities for your CV and Netties. Since it is merely August 42, I think this should really be doable, but you'd surely need to concentrate more LCU for the task -- maybe at the expense of a save perimeter in the northern Basin?
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