GreyJoy
Posts: 6750
Joined: 3/18/2011
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quote:
ORIGINAL: beppi
quote:
ORIGINAL: GreyJoy
Thanks Beppi!
Yes, i understand that principle (slow but steady and safe advance). However in the solomons i tried to "carpe diem"...when we realized that nothing south of Lae was garrisoned i decided to speed up the whole process and take advantage of this disposition of Rader's troops, thus gaining many months, exploiting the fact that we had plenty of troops ready for the Gilberts at Suva and Pago Pago (the second Gilbert operation was, as we remember, postponed due to the presence of the KB), troops that could be diverted into the Solomons
Indeed i think it was a sound decision...we managed in 3 months to get Noumea, Efate, Lungaville, Ndai, Lunga, Tulagi and Tessafaronga fully garrisoned and developed.
However the numbers you've mentioned are far far from what i can effort to move on the front lines. Karachi has sucked during these months every single U.S. plane that could fly and i only have to rely, for the pacific front, on the USN and USMC air units...so 120 fighters at Lunga is already a HUGE numbers for me at the moment.
100 P-38s?...dreaming...what is left of my P-38s pool is fighting at Karachi, along with the P-39s and P-40s... Sad but true.
It was a satback. I admit. And again i think the whole operation was a strategically a success...i just got lazy...if i only had used fewer ships at the same time (so if i felt less safe there) the KB raid would have been almost useless...but, again...we make mistake, we learn, we get better, we keep on advancing!
Thanks!!!
I did not want to criticize you, a 50 lost transport ships mean nothing. The only thing really worth it for an allied player are APAs and AKAs. Everything else is expandable. And yes your gains in the solomons where, at least from my point of view too, worth the losses.
As your main focus will be the Inchon style landing in India you should focus your main assets (CVs,APAs and so on) there as it is much more important than a quicker advance in the solomons. I just wanted to give you some tips to have a good "needle" strategy in the solomons. The 100 P38 are neccesary to do offensive operations against a well defended Rabaul, and for me it seems that Reder will draw his defensive line there. And the most important thing is, you have time. Your position in the solomons is quite good so further expand it, develop every possible base up to rabaul. Do not risk to much just develop. After the landings in India you have your naval assets back as India is mostly a land and air war (except colombo which is not that important). Then after that you can start to shift you fleet back to the south and use the already developed bases to move on rabaul. I see here plannings for the future in 10 or 12 months, not now. Then you will have the F6F, the P47 and more planes in greater numbers and higher quality. Then you can start a grind down of the rabaul area. And if you control that area at the begin of 1944 you are in a good position. No need to attack or invade it now, as India should be the priority.
And regarding to the numbers, that are the number necessarily to harden a base against KB raids. If you do not have them it is not a problem , just do not base crucial naval assets there and keep in mind that KB might visit. If you take that into account it is no problem. (And there will be a time when you have the planes  )
As last tip, if you have some bases around lunga -> use an good old style maskirovka. If Reder sees 5-6 bases close to each other with a 150 fighters in each and a 50 bombers he will think twice to assault it. So if you shift low quality fighters there or shift your training program there (from the Westcoast) or australian/NZ low quality stuff it just seems that you have a lot of planes there. They will just seem like a serious threat to KB even if the are not really one.
Yes, don't worry mate, i perfectly understood the meaning of your post! and, even if it was a critic, was really well accepted!
It's true that i need to focus in India. At the same time, as i said yesterday, i wanna keep the pressure up in the pacific. Every plane, every ship, every unit that Rader will feel to move to the pacific to counter my advance (and he's already doing that by moving lots of troops, planes and ships to that theatre as soon as i put my head there) will mean less japanese defences against the invasion of the Sub continent.
So my goal will be to study and put in practice two different balanced OOBs for these two main theatres (Pacific and India) so that he will not be able to easily put everything back to India.
At the moment Rabaul area is able to defend itself only by the presence of the KB (he has not enough LB bombers to suppress Karachi and at the same time to stop the american advance). He will have to decide where to place his KB...and by doing that he'll be forced to "open" the other front. So my aim is to be ready to act and exploit where the KB won't be.
To do that we must balance the forces. Even if i like the idea of massing everything in one single giant force (also because it will be logistically easier), i do think it's not strategically correct. Wanna use allies' numbers to feed two different vectors so forcing him to divide.
So, a part from the LCUs, speaking about navy, my most recent thought is that probably it's better to leave the CVEs in the pacific (cause the idea is to advance using the "frog" tactic), and to move the CVs to India. I think the KB will be in India by june 43...pretty sure of that....so if i need to tangle with it, i need my CVs...
I'll use this week of slowing down in order to study all the possible chances and to elaborate a detailed plan.
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RE: Bloody hairy - 
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). 
....but with sneaky approaches it can be done...Rader doesn't have Helens ASW everywhere... 
. He sent 550 fighters on sweep and our guys did what they could...the A2A ratings are 16 lost for me and 42 for him... 
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