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ITAKLinus -> RE: Advice requested, Cross Roads of Empire (3/26/2020 10:19:38 AM)
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There are too few elements to have a clear picture.
However, I always suggest new players to try to "play correctly", meaning to try to do things how they should be done against a strong opponent. It's how it is possible to learn the game.
For example, against the AI you can land in Onshu in 1942 without major problems. But, then, you play against a decent human opponent and he kicks your @ss.
Few things:
A) you cannot close the route to Australia. The allied player can simply pass via CapeTown and send stuff from there. It's not a major problem to do so. It requires a little bit of efforts in setting up the system, but it's ok. Also, most of the route is in off-map: full speed and zero problems from subs.
B) Given point A), any action in the South Pacific is of little benefit at best.
C) Strategically speaking, nobody has explained me yet what's the big advantage of reducing or even interrupting the flow of materiel to Australia. In other words: even supposing you can close Australia's routes in a reliable way, what's your benefit for this effort?
Now, I suggest to reduce the presence in the Pacific. Drastically. Leave few ENG units and NavGuards+SNLFs to defend key locations and nothing more. Whatever south of Rabaul is not really important.
I would organise a strong push on Darwin and on Perth.
Darwin.
It requires 2 divisions and a plethora of support units (ARM, ENG, etcetc). You land in Wyndham and you develop the port to lvl 2 or 3. And from there you reach Darwin.
The allied player has two options: either he evacuates Darwin or he tries to reinforce it. In either case, he's gonna fight a battle in an inferior logistical position. You can supply your troops sending regular convoys from Balikpapan, while the allied player cannot resupply his guys in a proper manner.
If you are in mid-april 42, you should be able to do the operation around 15/05/1942, unless you already have Timor developed and many troops/ships readily available.
The rationale of moving on Darwin is quite obvious: you destroy a potentially painful base right down the DEI. The allies will eventually retake it, but it's fine.
Perth
Perth can be attacked farily easily in the fist half of 42. It requires between 4 and 6 divisions, depending on enemy's will to defend it.
I suggest to land in Geraldton and from there to encircle the city. It's imperative to send some divisions to surround Perth and keep its defenders in place, while the bulk of your troops occupy Kargoolie, since it's the railway terminal of the Perth-Sidney railway. Any reinforcement or additional unit the Allies will send, will have to come through that base.
Once it is taken, you can send your troops all inside Perth and capture it. It's a plain hex, so it's not easy to defend even if there are high forts. Ideally, you have 4-7 AKEs and a couple of TKs disbanded in Geraldton and you make a bombardament train with your 10 BBs. 10 BBs bombarding each day a plain hex are quite an impressive tool to destryo enemy's will to defend it.
You can take supplies quite easily from Java.
Rationale of capturing Perth is to make more complex the CapeTown-Sidney route and to prevent a buildup there since 1942. It quite easy for an allied player to start building up the bases on Australia's west coast and from there to push in the DEI already in late 43. Also, if Darwin is still in Allies' hands, it can be relieved and it becomes another painful line of advance for the allies.
Last but not least, if the allied player decides to commit his troops in Perth, it's the perfect place to massacre them: no local industry, far from any supply production center, plain hex, bombardable from the sea, close to your supply production centers.
Regarding the autovictory.
It's not excluded that you can achieve it but it's very very unlikely. Getting to the magical 4:1 is outrageously difficoult and the allied player has dozens of ways to prevent it. The easiest is probably massive bombing campaigns in Burma, where it's difficoult to keep a 4:1 score in the skies for you.
Also, you currently need roughly 10.000 more points. Points which arent that easy to grind around.
I strongly suggest not to count on the autovictory. It's not a credible possibility.
Allied player's strategy.
If I were the allied player I wouldn't be bothered by the loss of the carriers and of some useless islands in the Pacific. Individually, I'd start a slow but constant crawling in the Pacific. Making Marquesas Islands a logistic hub shouldn't be complex. From there I would buildup Thaithi and co. You will sink few ships, probably, but nothing serious.
At that point, I am ready to threaten your presence there. You always need the KB in the area or I can strike and organise some landings just to disturb you. If you don't kill the guys landing in unprotected islands, I can build them up and keep advancing.
That's just to bother you and threaten your positions. Low costs for me, huge costs for you: you have to bring troops from far away. Planes. Keep a naval presence. And consume huge amounts of fuel and supplies.
Done that, I'd start a major pressure on Burma, the old classic of 1942. Even if I don't gain any significant result, I oblige you to send troops in a theater that is notoriously a moloch: you burn a lot of troops, planes and especially supplies in Burma.
Over there I can aim for a 2:1 in the skies in your favour. It's more than enough to push away any idea regarding autovictory.
Main target of Burma is to make you consume stuff, to oblige you to send a lot of materiel there and eventually to push for a Burma Road reopening in 1943.
In China I'd keep a solid defence around. Probably I'd start moving few units around the theater just to disrupt your communications and gain time. Over there the big show is in 1943, when the Burma Road can be reopened and the airlift becomes serious. I'd send via plane or through the mountains few units of AA and AT. AAs consume a lot of ammo, but they can be very useful in China. ATs make japanese tanks less than a foe.
Now we have:
-South Pacific. Little costs for the allies, high for the japanese and possible line of attack for the future just to bother you.
-Burma. Major efforts in the skies. High costs for both but good ROI in terms of points and possible future developments.
-China. Stretegic defence with some action to slow you down and prevent any major concentration of troops.
At this point we are in late 42 and the allies can start thinking seriously at their next moves. I would buildup the Aleutinians. I don't believe much in the northern route of approach to Japan, but it's a viable option and a threat from Aleutinians obliges you to bring stuff in the Kurilis/Hokkaido/Shakhalin. Obviously, any action there will require you to move major assets such as the KB far from any other place in the map.
That's just another element of the general strtegy of multiple committments to "dilute" the japanese.
If you got Darwin and Perth, my main concern would be to keep the shipments from Cape Town running. In late 42 I should have enough stuff in Australia to make an offensive on Perth viable. I would probably be sure your carriers are around sinking useless cargoes and then I'd strike Albany and Esperance from Adelaide.
Taken the two locations, troops from Albany move north, trying to get whatever troops you have in the area against them, while the main force from Esperance takes Kargoolie and allows troops in Sidney area to arrive via railway.
If you want to defend Perth, you have to bring a lot of stuff and it becomes painful. 4Es can do major damages to any airforce you bring and there aren't big ports nearby.
Against this move, the wisest course of action for the japanese would be not to defend Perth.
Retaken Perth, I arrive in 1943 far from the 4:1 in score and with several possibilities for the year:
I) Keep pushing in Burma with the target of reopening the Burma Road
II) Pressure in the South Pacific to cutoff your major defensive positions there
III) Raids in the aleutinians to open a new front which requires a lot of efforts to be defended
IV) Slowly crawling from Perth to Exmouth and Port Hedland and open a front in southern DEI
V) Blitz in the triangle MilneBay-RosselIsland-WoodlarkIsland with the target of both cutting off Port Moresby and threatening to cutoff your stuff in Noumea/Fiji/etcetc.
VI) Blitz from Christmas Island to Canton/Baker Islands.
All these 6 options can be combined to have more or less efficiency. For example, pushing from Perth is great when combined with points V) and VI). Point II) and III) can be used as well just as diversions.
As Japanese, then, I'd do Perth and Darwin operations. I'd remove from the Pacific every division and unit which is not little air support AirCoy plus SNLFs/NavGuards.
I'd create a solid line of defence anchored on the Salomons/Gilberts/Marshall line, creating a hub for each (I suggest Rabaul for the Salomons, Tabiteuea for the Gilberts and Ponape for the Marshalls) and finally I won't defend neither Perth nor Darwin once conquered. 4-500AV south of Darwin and a couple of divisions plus several minor units around Perth. Strong defence and development of Geraldton: it's a railway hub and it's from where you will try to evacuate when the allies will counterattack in the area.
Then, major efforts in Burma. The Thai can try to hold the border in the jungle (don't forget to have them at 100%TOE) and a couple of divisions can defend the area in front of Akyab. Then 1 more division in Ramree Island and 2 divisions as reserve in Rangoon for a gran total of 5 thai divisions plus 5 IJA ones. A couple of brigades (those with 252AV from Onshu or the IndMixedBrigades of 210AV from China) can boost Katha-Myitkyna area, plus one in Port Blair.
Strong development of Timor is highly recommended, since it will be the dam preventing allies flood to reach DEI from the south once the north-western coast of Australia is lost. I suggest to develop Dili, since you can put a mine tender in the nearby bases making harder any naval bombardament for the allies.
Last but not least, strong defence of a couple of Kurilis and lvl9 AF in Asahikagawa or how the hell is called the base in the middle of Hokkaido. It cannot be bombed by the sea in case the allies push in the north.
In China you should be able to do major operations south of Changsha in order to try to envelope it. It won't work if the chinese is reactive, but it will create him troubles for sure. It's of extreme importance the ability to cross the river in Hengyang and from there marching directly on Chihkihang, which can become a strong defensive point after the Changsha front falls.
I have done the maneuver with 10.000AV, but you can do it with half of that and still be successful. Once Chihkiang is captured, you can start the attacks on Changsha. It will take a while, but if the enemies are surrounded and you have at least 4-500 2Es in Hankow, you can reduce it fairily quickly.
From Chihkihang, then, you have to move toward Kweyiang. And from there you can march north, trying to reach Chungking's plains.
Since your supplies aren't great, I recommend making a couple of shipments of 50.000 supplies to Hankow in the next month and then establish a couple of CS convoys from Nagasaki/Sasebo of roughly 10-15k each. And, of course, avoid overstacking as hell.
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