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fcharton -> RE: Being good, for a change – SqzMyLemon (J) vs fcharton (A) (5/19/2016 6:20:10 PM)
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Over the last two months, our war moved on at a slow pace (mostly my fault). We are now in April, past the end of the amphibious bonus, exchanging five turns per week again, and I have a little more time for this AAR.
April 5th 1942,
Being back, for a change
So, this is April 1942, and from an Allied standpoint, everything is nice, and calm, and unusual. The Japanese advance was very slow, with only a handful of bases captured in March (Ambon, Dobo, Horn Island, part of the Celebes, bits of New Guinea, Guam and northern Sumatra). Java is still Dutch, the Philippines have not been attacked (but the lack of supplies makes it an easier prey every day), and Burma has yet to see Japanese troops (so far, only a couple of Thai units dare cross the border into the jungle).
Eastern Australia, invaded in January, seems to have been abandoned at some point, maybe once Joseph realized Melbourne, new reinforced, was out of reach. We have been moving north, capturing Brisbane a few days ago and should clear the eastern coast by the end of the month. I am not sure the invasion was such a good idea: I will have the territory back a couple of months later, I get to keep the reinforcements and Joseph lost a couple of months.
The Pacific is very quiet. Apart from Guam, the lines have not moved since the beginning of the year. Japan holds Guadalcanal, Nauru and Tarawa.
China is the only active theater. The North has been quiet so far. In the south, Joseph could not manage to isolate Changsha, but took Kweilin, and seems to be marching on Kweiyang, taking a southern route to the Szechuan basin. My KMT units are not very well placed : I have too many in the north and centre, and not enough in the south. On the other hand, Joseph is moving very cautiously, which gives me time to evacuate and relocate.
Overall, the Japanese advance has been very prudent. I believe my aggressive stance early in the war convinced my opponent that I would fight for every inch of allied territory. He is now shadow boxing in a mostly empty SRA, and the end of the amphibious bonus makes everything even slower. This state of affairs suits me fine. I am not planning to oppose his invasions, or reinforce Java. I might even evacuate Burma at some point.
My goal is to keep him inside a “small” historical perimeter, by occupying neighboring bases, and to concentrate forces and supplies on its periphery, in order to be able to counterattack by the end of 1942.
Here is the general map, I will post theater by theater details in later installments.
[image]local://upfiles/36309/48B603262CE14E798626E2C5B09EB744.jpg[/image]
Reconquista
The recapture of Australia is a slow affair. A task force built around the Natal rifles, the seventh armoured brigade and the seventh South African brigade has been moving along the coast, capturing empty bases on its way. It is in now Maryborough, which should fall tomorrow. At the current speed of advance, we should reach Cairns by the beginning of May.
I have a lot of troops in Australia: all the emergency reinforcements are there, plus most of the regular reinforcements arriving in Aden between January and March, plus the Americal division and another US division I bought and transferred here, plus a few indian troops I brought in at the beginning. There are quite a few US troops in New Caledonia, Fiji and Pago Pago too. I believe this rules out a Japanese move against the southern pacific, and suggests my next move should be towards the Solomons and New Guinea. I have begun moving small units into the New Hebrides, to build bases there, and try to get some decent intelligence about his dispositions in the Solomons.
I would like to wait until he commits to Java, Burma and the Philippines, and jump on the Solomons and the islands south of New Guinea. But I’m keeping my options open : if Joseph goes on delaying his move against Java, it might be worth reinforcing (I have to say I am tempted to do this, because, as a former JFB, I would love to see my opponent’s reaction when he finds US divisions in central Java…).
This leaves India relatively empty. I believe my opponent is too late on his schedule to embark on a big expedition against India. So I am mostly reinforcing Bengal and Assam.
Waiting for the barbarians
Burma has been the quietest theater so far. A couple of Thai units have crossed the border a few weeks ago, and have been camping in the jungle since, but there have been very little signs of movement on the road to Moulmein. I suspect Joseph is planning to land in Tavoy, and invade overland.
Right now, my troops are concentrated in Moulmein (600 AV behind level four forts), and Rangoon (400 AV, level four forts too). Joseph has been reconning the area, and certainly knows the amount of troops I have there. He will need several divisions to fight here, but he will bring them eventually.
Now, whereas I am very happy of having kept Burma for so long, I don’t think it is worth losing those troops, and so I am seriously considering evacuating my troops before the shooting starts. I could rail them to northern Burma, and have them walk to Assam, while Joseph lands his big units, 100% prepped now that the amphibious bonus is gone. He would get Burma for free, but at a very late time, and the divisions committed there would be a long way from the Pacific. Also, if he decides to go for India, I would have a couple more divisions there.
Now, on the other hand, the monsoon will be there in 40 days, which means the march overland will be slow and ugly (but so would any pursuit be…)
I am undecided, but very tempted to prepare for this evacuation.
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