Slitherine

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ORIGINAL: BBfanboy

I have often wondered if the key to success in Oz is to seize NZ first, virtually cutting the eastern supply route and then heavily patrol the west side of Oz to cut the western route.

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ORIGINAL: SqzMyLemon

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ORIGINAL: BBfanboy

I have often wondered if the key to success in Oz is to seize NZ first, virtually cutting the eastern supply route and then heavily patrol the west side of Oz to cut the western route.

Does invading New Zealand release it's own emergency reinforcement package, or is the package the same whether you invade Australia or New Zealand?

I plan on doing things differently. It won't be landings in the north and east, but rather direct amphibious landings at, or close to, both Melbourne and Sydney and work my way up. Follow up amphibious landings will target Darwin and Perth, but only after the initial landings in the south. My reasoning is that by securing both Melbourne and Sydney first, followed by landings at Perth, a direct supply route to Australia now becomes impossible.

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ORIGINAL: SqzMyLemon

quote:

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy

I have often wondered if the key to success in Oz is to seize NZ first, virtually cutting the eastern supply route and then heavily patrol the west side of Oz to cut the western route.

Does invading New Zealand release it's own emergency reinforcement package, or is the package the same whether you invade Australia or New Zealand?

I plan on doing things differently. It won't be landings in the north and east, but rather direct amphibious landings at, or close to, both Melbourne and Sydney and work my way up. Follow up amphibious landings will target Darwin and Perth, but only after the initial landings in the south. My reasoning is that by securing both Melbourne and Sydney first, followed by landings at Perth, a direct supply route to Australia now becomes impossible.

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Insert witty AAR title here

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ORIGINAL: SqzMyLemon

Thanks for all the comments and suggestions. I'm currently putting together a plan and timetable for an Australian operation with the prospect of Francois preparing for just such an eventuality. I'll do my best to mask my intentions, but having to prep a large number of units for Australian targets could provide enough SIGINT to eliminate any chance of surprise.

The invasion of Australia will be a Phase I objective, possibly occurring before Singapore is even captured. Any later than February will be too late in my opinion. This is Australia or bust. The objective is to not give Francois the time to fall back on Melbourne or Sydney by landing along the east coast, but rather an attempt to land in proximity to both targets and isolate both from reinforcement prior to capture. It's a tall order, but there is no other way in my opinion.

I'm looking at the forces available and it's going to be tight. Japan starts with 11 divisions and the 65th Bde., all unrestricted. Two restricted divisions can be bought out from China/Korea/Manchuria by February. I'm spit balling five divisions for Singapore, one division and 65th Bde. for Luzon and five for the first landings in Australia. The two restricted divisions will be parcelled out as PP's become available and arrive in subunits over the next two months. Once Singapore falls, one division will reinforce Burma, two will invade Java and the remaining two will capture Perth.

These are my initial dispositions for the preliminary planning stage. Unrestricted heavy artillery and armour will initially be sent to Australia rather than China or Luzon.

The downside to an Australian first strategy will be the weakening of the push through the DEI. I expect to face substantial resistance from the Allies' naval assets in the DEI and an attempt to create a fortress Rangoon to get extra supply into China once my intentions become clear.

Should be fun times!

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I've also thought about what the American CV's might do to threaten my LOC. I'd actually welcome attempts to do so. Possibly drawing the Allied CV's out in defence of Australia is one of my goals.

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Next up for me will be planning operations against Borneo, the Celebes,

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ORIGINAL: SqzMyLemon

I was setting up China last night and ran into an issue with DBB-B. There is a typo in the editor that makes the garrison at Mukden 2000 instead of 200. I guess it's a simple fix by going into the editor, fixing the typo then saving into the scenario folder. Once that is done we may just exchange dummy turns to make sure everything is ok.

Anyway, this is the third time I've set up China as Japan and feel quite comfortable in the theatre. The reduction in aviation support will have a direct impact on the campaign though. Coordination of effort between ground and limited air forces will be a key to success.

I always concentrate on freeing up combat LCU's from garrison duty to frontline service first. My priority for China remains focused on fuel/oil producing bases first, Sian and Lanchow, and then smaller supply production centres. It will be interesting to see how Francois plays China, and for some reason I believe he's going to try and play aggressively here. I do not let Chinese troops remain active in my rear, ever, so it could be interesting if he tries to flood my LOC's with units.

Next up for me will be planning operations against Borneo, the Celebes, Malaysia and the Philippines. Then air production for a change of pace. The biggest task will be the organization of transport capacity to move five divisions worth of troops plus armour, artillery and support units for sustained operations in Australia. The amount of fuel and supply required will be substantial.