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TommyBoy84 -> Need Allied Help - Jap Autovictory seems inevitable (No ColCathcart) (11/14/2012 10:52:09 AM)
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It's late August 1942 in my CHS 159 PBEM with ColCathcart. I'm the Allies. Right now he has a nearly 5:1 VP advantage (roughly 25,500 - 5,600). What can I do to regain VPs before the autovictory check on 1/1/43? It really seems like I'll have to take desperate measures. Here is an overview of territory, fleets, etc.:
TERRITORY:
Southwest and South Map:
-SRA is in Jap hands, as is Port Moresby, as is virtually all of Burma (Rangoon, Mandalay included). I'm dug in at Imphal and Dacca with a significant air presence, but he still has air superiority in both quantity and quality of fighters. I have heavy AA at the major bases I have left, but any time I send fighters up he just slaughters them with sweeps. India and Ceylon seem very threatened.
-Darwin down to Tennant Creek is in Jap hands. I'm dug in at Alice Springs, but he's got a heavy fighter presence at Tennant Creek and makes regular sweeps, mowing down chunks of my CAP and bomber force there. I've been running night bomber raids at Tennant Creek, but with limited success. I have a major sub base out of Townsville, and am making B-24 raids against Port Moresby out of Cairns with good success.
-I hold Noumea and Louganville, and have been fortifying each with troops, fighters, and land-based bombers. I also hold Suva, with a moderate defense force there.
China:
-He is closing a net around central China. He has taken several of the outlying bases in China, and I'm progressively falling back and defending, but he keeps pushing on.... slowly, but surely.
Central Pacific:
-He still of course has Kwajalein, as well as Wake. I've heavily fortified Canton Island to protect my sea routes from PH.
North Pacific:
-He has taken Attu Island, Adak Island, and one of the other major ones (Amchitka Island?). I've fortified Cold Bay and Kodiak, and am working on Anchorage. His CV's have been repeatedly spotted in the area, so I have a heavy fighter presence with several B-24 squadrons that are on naval attack. No luck yet though.
FLEET INFORMATION:
-His fleet is almost totally intact, save for a handful of transports sunk by Sub, and a few DD's sunk by lucky bomb hits. I managed one lucky torpedo hit on Kaga, but nothing bigger than a CL has been sunk.
-My merchant fleet has taken huge casualties. My losses of AK's, TK's, and such are into the hundreds. He's gotten lucky with some air strikes and has run a very successful sub campaign despite my ASW efforts.
-I lost the Yorktown thanks to finding some IJN CV's where they weren't expected. I also lost the Hermes in the same way. Apart from those two, my CV force is healthy. I have 7 full-size CV's ready for action with 1 more in the repair yard..... a survivor of the attack that sank the Yorktown. I also have two CVE's with another one on the way.
-My non-CV surface fleet is fairly healthy as well. I lost several CA's and CL's, once again, by surprise, encountering some IJN CV's where they weren't expected. However, I still have enough to support multiple CVTF's as well as some SCTF's. I have the North Carolina and Prince of Wales, with South Dakota and Washington on the way..... so I'll have a healthy group of fast BB's for CVTF escort soon.
So, what can I realistically do to make up the VP gap and deny him an autovictory on January 1st, 1943? Please tell me I'm wrong, but I feel as though I may need to throw a couple hail marys..... something like trying to force a 7-on-6 CV battle and coming out ahead, or sailing some carriers into jap shipping lanes and hope they can put some healthy tonnage on the bottom without being sunk themselves by LBA or a surprise KB visit.
Any advice is appreciated, regardless of how hail-maryish it is. Thank you!
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