ITAKLinus
Posts: 630
Joined: 2/22/2018 From: Italy Status: offline
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Ok. Read the whole topic from where I left time ago. Personal opinion: the Japanese player has committed several tactical and strategic errors, especially in letting Singers behind. Moreover, he doesn't really look committed to a target, something that can be dangerous for you if it is an able maskirovka, but might simply highlight a lack of strategic thought. Regarding Australia. In my last PBEM, the one I was referring to few posts above, I ended with an easy A.V. in 1942. In the current one, I got it but in 1943. Australia has been the key for the "easy" (ahah!) A.V., while India hasn't given me enough points to do so. Probably I am a newbie, but that's my experience. In India you incurr in so many losses that it's basically impossible to keep the 4:1 ratio needed for the A.V. In Australia, OTOH, you can try. If he aims at an A.V. (and I really think it's impossible in his current strategic condition), Australia is gonna be his target and he will need the famous "boots on the ground". You can stop his strategic bombing quite easily. Now. A piece of advice. In the game I got Australia, I cut it off immediately taking Noumea and Raoul Island. It didn't really stop resupply efforts, but made them complicated and gave me enough warning on their arrival from US. Ancillary actions in Pago Pago, Canton Island and Fiji have been carried out shortly afterwards without many problems. Then I landed around 14/Jan in Carnarvon and Geraldton with 3 IJA Divisions (I skipped Philippines and did a massive Mersing on 7th Dec to get Singers easily). Here similarities with your game start to occurr. I was keeping the KB (minus Kaga) in the Pacific Ocean and the 2ndKB (plus Kaga) in the DEI. When I landed in Western Australia I did a huge mess, bombing with every surface combat ship available and waiting to attack to "show" him all the tools I brought there. I was also being relatively slow intentionally to give him time to respond. He reinforced Perth. In the confusion after the landings, I slipped a mega-TF with three more divisions, which landed in Port Augusta on the 27th of January. Conclusion: he moved immediately to reinforce Perth with what he had available, thinking that he could eventually contain an effort from my side in Eastern Australia, and instead I cut his guys off in Perth. The "Battle of Perth" has been a bloodbath with my BBs and CAs bombarding everyday from the sea. He couldn't really save his troops at that point. On the other side of Australia, KB was vigilant over any resupply effort from East. The landing force for Port Augusta, criminally without air cover, has been damaged by Force Z + whatever australian and Royal Navy had + Hermes, but Mutsu and Nagato took it in the chin and somehow protected my troops. He had too little warning to do anything since I used the fastest ships available for the landing with the final couple of turns in full speed. Sydney fell then after a long siege in May. In the meanwhile, aslo, I have landed a strong force in Eastern Australia ordering them to link with the guys in Port Augusta. Scen01 stock game. Usual HRs. What I am trying to say is that I feel your opponent has lost the strategic grip over his Japanese global posture, but he can still do some evil trick, which can make you lose the game due to A.V. if he punches hard at the right spots. It hasn't of course to be necessarily the "Port Augusta Gambit" I did, but something else. I have the daily AAR of that game, but it's in Italian so I guess it's of no use
< Message edited by ITAKLinus -- 2/5/2021 10:06:02 AM >
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Francesco
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