fcharton -> RE: Perfection, of a kind, spence (A) vs fcharton (J) (11/13/2012 12:03:55 AM)
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June 8th, 1942 Meanwhile in the North I have Glen-toting submarines patrolling the Aleutians, to keep track of any build up there. I few weeks ago, they detected a large task force unloading in Attu Island. A bombardment task force, around BB Mutsu and Yamashiro, was dispatched from Tokyo, and arrived today. It seems the large enemy task force was an amphibious task force, that took a while to unload, or perhaps was left there with a “remain on station” order. Ten cargoes, escorted by four patrol gunboats: our battleships had a field day. Night Time Surface Combat, near Attu Island at 153,49, Range 2,000 Yards Japanese Ships BB Mutsu BB Yamashiro, Shell hits 1 CL Yubari DD Yugure DD Ariake DD Uzuki Allied Ships xAK Trento, Shell hits 1, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk xAK Ensley City xAK Knoxville City, Shell hits 17, and is sunk xAK Tuscaloosa City, Shell hits 14, and is sunk xAK Crown City, Shell hits 2, and is sunk xAK Barbara Olson xAK Cold Brook, Shell hits 4, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk xAK Don Isidro, Shell hits 1, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk xAK Dorothy Philips, Shell hits 13, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk xAK Eldorado, Shell hits 8, Torpedo hits 3, and is sunk KV Edmundston, Shell hits 3, heavy fires KV New Westminster, Shell hits 9, and is sunk KV Timmins, Shell hits 7, and is sunk KV Wetaskiwin, Shell hits 11, and is sunk The bombardment of the island provided this: BB Yamashiro firing at 58th (Sep) Infantry Regiment This suggests the Aleutians have been garrisoned, and will need to be supplied by more convoys like the one I just sank. I will probably base a few raiding task forces in the Kuriles, and send more Glen subs to monitor enemy moves. Chungking obsession The bombardment today was quite effective Ground combat at Chungking (76,45) Japanese Bombardment attack Attacking force 142680 troops, 2244 guns, 1269 vehicles, Assault Value = 3888 Defending force 162817 troops, 919 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 5225 Japanese ground losses: 78 casualties reported Squads: 1 destroyed, 5 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Allied ground losses: 465 casualties reported Squads: 6 destroyed, 37 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled 43 combat squads is no mean victory, but total AV is still going up, thanks to respawning units. I probably need to attack again, and reduce the forts (now level five). So long the forts hold, damage will not be good. I have been thinking about all the recent findings about China, and am trying to adjust my strategy. I still want China out of the war, and will try to take Chungking and eliminate all the KMT. I realize it will probably take longer than I expected. As of today, there are 90 units in Chungking, including 50 corps. There are probably fifteen to twenty more currently respawning. The rest of the KMT is trying hard to be eliminated. I might be able to pocket some, but many of them will have to be destroyed, and will come back. This suggests there are two stages in the conquest of China. First, you defeat the KMT, take all the bases, pocket all the units, and eliminate most of them. And then, you have the big battle on the gates of Mordor (or Amber), complete with zombies, and orcs, and balrogs… One sane strategy would probably be to pocket Chungking (I just need to close two hexsides now), leave a large enough garrison to keep the million chinese in, bomb them from the air so that they don’t repair their damage, and move over. That sounds sane, but a bit wimpy, totally unworthy of this evil empire. So, I want to try and take Chungking. It seems clear to me that I can’t avoid having to reduce a very large Chinese stack there. As their experience will be higher than I thought, bombarding becomes less of an issue. They will gain experience out of it, but also disruption, and fatigue, and low morale, and counter battery fire will consume huge amounts of supplies. I have about 1500 guns in Chungking, and 15 bomber squadrons in bases around Sichuan. I am bombing around the clock. I also intend to bring recon squadrons. Apparently, they help raising detection level, which in turn, make bombardment more efficient. Finally, the sooner I reduce the forts, the better. Our previous deliberate attack showed how costly this can be, but I don’t think there is a way around it. I am attacking tomorrow again, to get the forts to level four (hopefully). I probably need to bring more support troops. How long should this take? With less artillery, less troops, and more supplies to begin with, Bataan held four months, from January to May. It seems fair to imagine that Chungking could hold until late 1942. The good point with this strategy is that whereas a lot of units will be stuck besieging Chungking for the rest of the year, once I have pocketed or cleared the rest of the country, I can still reinforce Burma. As such, it might be wise to allow for more respawning, if it means clearing a larger part of China, and therefore freeing more troops for use abroad.
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