|
Canoerebel -> RE: The Good The Bad & The Indifferent (11/15/2016 4:41:40 PM)
|
1/6/44
It's a game of hexes, and today those hexes favored the Allies. Through a mixture of planning and luck and bad timing, the Kaigun suffers major attrition.
Big Tent: BBs Yamato and Mutsu flagged a TF that spent the turn a hex from Morotai, probably inbound on a bombardment mission. By shear chance, Death Star spent the turn six hexes away, protecting the herd at Sorong. All DS strike aircraft were set to range six, and this time the flew in numbers, encountering meager CAP that the American fighters wept aside. The end result was a bitter harvest for John, and a surprising victory for me.
The first big wave of strike aircraft put 20 bombs and 2 torps into Yamato, and 13 bombs and two torps into Mutsu. Smaller follow-up strikes finished off Mutsu with four more TT and left Yamato a "heavy fires, heavy damage" hulk with with two more TTs. One IJN DD took two bombs with "heavy fires, heavy damage."
It is probable that John will pull his shipping back in the face of Death Star. If so, the unfolding missions to Morotai and Manokwari should go smoothly. Morotai will come first, as the transports can move in tandem with DS, which will move to a point just north of Morotai in hopes of finishing off Yamato, if she's still afloat.
So the threat level to the logistics missions to Morotai, Manokwari and Sorong are dialed down a bit. These should be wrapped up inside of three or four days.
Four RN DDs sank a few xAKs and an SC at Dili.
What of KB? It's over near the Marshalls and didn't fly any strikes today. John did get a navsearch report about BB Colorado, which is some 18 hexes to the east of KB. He might pull the trigger on pursuit, since he's got to be mad as a wet dog, but I doubt it.
With KB out of position and with the Kaigun further attrited, there may not be any real deterrent to Death Star in the entire DEI at the moment. There are subs; there are some combat TFs; and there is LBA; but there's nothing that of itself can pose a threat to DS (I think).
Fuel supplies bear watching, and Allied troops are mostly committed now, but I'm pondering possibilities in the DEI. Yesterday I'd already changed prep to Alor, a base north of Dili, for one of the few units I have in reserve (and, for another unit, to Bathurst Island). It really is nearly time for Big Tent to wind down, and opening the Torres Strait remains critical. But the void that seems to exist in the DEI presents quite an opportunity.
To this point, John's been focusing on cauterizing Big Tent and preparing to attack forward. Eventually, I think, he'll realize that he no longer has the luxury of thinking "forward" when his rear is so vulnerable. Does he realize that or not?
[image]local://upfiles/8143/1B013BAB34614C8196EC03EF6E646C98.jpg[/image]
|
|
|
|
