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Canoerebel -> RE: The Good The Bad & The Indifferent (2/14/2017 5:25:46 PM)
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For OpSec reasons, discussions of long-range plans or key operations are mostly vague or entirely avoided. But here's a discussion of what's going on behind the current tactical and operational maneuvering (this won't be revealing to experienced player, but might be of interest to those who are newer).
The next big Allied operation, Peep Show, is currently scheduled for autumn 1944. But a sudden decisive battle could change timetables and objectives. A big carrier victory would result in expedited moves forward. A big defeat would translate into "fort-up" and defend until the situation stabilizes. A draw would mean: carry on, for now, and see to bringing in reinforcements to regain enough carrier strength to move against any LBA threat.
So bearing in mind that conditions may change, in the medium term the plan is to build up the Philippine Island bases while expanding my hold, especially to the south and west. Readers know that Leyte is currently under assault; Panay is next; and then probably bases to the W and SW to take control of the Sulu Sea. From there, I'd likely move further south to make it difficult or impossible for John to get oil for Miri/Brunei, Tarakan and Balikpapan.
While that's going on, I'm attending to mop-up duty in the Pacific and in the DEI. This is hazardous because John will look for opportunities to strike exposed and under-protected forces. In most places my LOCs are long and narrow, meaning they are exposed to enemy air or sea attack from the flanks. To reduce the risk to those LOCs and make shipment of troops, supplies and fuel more efficient, I'm broadening those shoulders, but doing so slowly and pretty carefully. The Ellice Islands and Roi-Namur just fell; Namlea should fall in a day or two; and many other bases are targeted, near-term or medium-term, including: Luganville, Ndeni, Ocean, Nauru, Kusaie, Eniwetok, Marcus, Darwin, Koepang, Lautem, Manado, Ternate, Makassar, and Kendari. That's a lot of mopping up!
For the past six months, I've usually had at least one and sometimes as many as three amphibious forces at sea, ready to move if KB shows up somewhere far away. I don't mention these forces because stealth is a key component of each operation. Many, many times I've had to recall these forces because KB suddenly shows up nearby or its whereabouts have been uncertain for too long. The invasion of Toabli, the dot hex between Wake and Wotje, was a good example. I started invasion forces towards that insignificant little atoll three or four times over four months before finally green-lighting it.
The three main objectives are the same: (1) Japanese navy; (2) Japanese oil; (3) Japanese industry. John is showing a marked reluctance to commit his navy. He's picking at the edges, hoping that subs and aircraft might cause enough attrition to lessen the odds. That may or may not happen. Eventually he'll probably commit his navy in conjunction with kamikazes and other LBA. In the meantime, I think I'll be focusing on threatening his oil production centers as a way of prodding him to commit.
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