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Alfred -> RE: Soviets Activated.... (6/20/2017 3:47:16 AM)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Lowpe
I have to say I am leaning towards fight the Soviets...[8|]
Obvert is fine either way and OTH we would endeavor to recreate the identical turn with just the once exception on Japan's side...but Obvert probably couldn't do nearly as well recreating his turn should we decide instead to redo the turn.
So I will take a week and look at it...and see if Japan wants to tackle the Bear. I am definitely leaning towards this as it would make for a very different game. Perhaps, even surprising.
Obvert is on vacation so no time lost in making the decision.
If you had been preparing from 7 Dec 1941 for Soviet activation the plan I would recommend would be different to the following.
1. In early 1942 the Soviets are not particularly strong. Their greatest weakness is their airforce. Their pilot replacement rates are low, most of their airframes are obsolete. They are yet to receive sturmoviks and very significantly (IIRC in this scenario) their sturmovik production is on map and the factories located in "vulnerable" territory.
2. With activation the Soviet navy becomes available. Whilst lacking much in the way of heavy units it has a lot of subs and destroyers which can wreck havoc on your SLOC and go a long way towards reducing the effectiveness of your "magical highway".
3. Soviet supply flowing to Chinese bases is not your real concern; the real concern should be Soviet supply flowing to Chinese LCUs located in the countryside.
4. Soviet raw materials are meagre in comparison to what is available in the SRA but they are close to the Home Islands and not particularly well defended. They can therefore be captured and transported back to Japan relatively easily.
I recommend that you base your conduct on 3 principles:
(A) interdict Soviet supply flow to China
(B) safeguard your SLOC
(C) weaken the bear in a cost effective manner else you won't capture the SRA
Bearing in mind these principles, I would not attempt to destroy the Soviet land forces in and near Vladivostok. Instead I would:
(a) drive hard across the Gobi desert to capture the dot base Wuteh (IIRC it has light industry) Dalan Dzadagad and Ulan Bator. Enemy forces are weak here and thus you do not need a sizeable force. Units from China can be used here. This operation will help in creating a desert between Soviet supply sources and Chinese LCUs.
(b) as part of the desert operation, the Soviet bases Obote, Yugodzyr, Tamsag, Ondorhaan, Choybalsan and Borzya also need to be captured. This area is more strongly defended than (a) and therefore you will need to use Manchukuo units as your nearby China units are needed to drive hard to Wasu and Urumchi.
(c) to seal off supply arriving from Alma-Ata capture Wasu and park a small LCU between it and the Alma-Ata "worm hole" exit.
(d) if the sturmovik factories are located at Komsomolsk in this scenario, aim for this base which should also have some useful other industry present. There are two approaches to Komsomolsk; overland via Khabarovsk/Birobidzhan or seaborne (with a short overland move subsequently) via Sovetskaya Gavan/Nikolaevsk. Going overland means fighting through strong Soviet land forces and consequently would consume much of your Manchukuo forces (leaving little to contain the Vladivostok area forces) and a lot of supply. It is therefore not recommended. The seaborne route has one serious disadvantage viz the Soviet CD guns at either location but two significant advantages viz relatively weak Soviet garrisons and it helps to neutralise the Soviet navy and protect your SLOC. Note that with Nikolaevsk under Japanese control you can send merchantmen up river to Komsomolsk.
(e) very high priority is to capture the Soviet half of Sakhalin Island. This is where the useful Soviet raw materials are found. It also safeguards your SLOC. A naval landing directly at Okha has to be seriously considered, thereby bypassing the Soviet frontier "forts".
(f) Petrovpavlovsk and the two dot islands Bering Island and Medny Island should be captured ASAP. There are some raw material here but more significantly it strengthens your northern defences against an Allied drive against the Kuriles/Hokkaido. These locations are weakly defended. Consideration to capturing Magadan should also be given
(g) whilst doing all of the above you need to speed up the conquest of northern China in particular. In this game your Chinese units should not be viewed as providing a strategic reserve for further conquests in the SRA (and beyond) but as your reserve against the Soviets. A quick conquest of China might release sufficient forces to take on the Vladivostok area forces or provide the force to move on to the significant industrial centres of Ulan Ude, Irkutsk and Krasnoyarsk.
(h) abandon any thought of phase 2 operations against India, Australia, New Zealand, Samoa et al. You will be doing very well if you can hold simultaneously the historical Japanese conquests and the Soviets under control.
Alfred
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