Bullwinkle58
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Joined: 2/24/2009
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A few musings after just completing my first "no surprise" turn, December 8th, in no particular order
1) Lots more clicking than I'm used to.
2) Set up Local minesweepers for the first time ever.
3) The new parent-child asterick mark in the LCU list in the beta is a godsend for finding all the pieces and parts and getting them moving toward combining. Especially useful in Oz and Malaysia.
4) I set up as many surface TFs at places I expect to get hit on Day 2 as I could. PH has wounded BBs as TF cores (some have 40 points of damage in one area, and damage in more than one area) matched with at least one CA and multiple DDs as flak castles. I figured if I put the BBs pierside they're going to bleed and for nothing, so they might as well go down swinging. I tried to better stack my CAP than on turn 1, having at least one top-cover P-40 unit, even where the maneuver band sucks.
5) Still don't know if there will be a Mersing gambit; did what I could with mines and moving one extra infantry unit forward.
6) I began moves which could turn into a Fortress Palembang if he gives me time. I divided Sumatra into a north zone and a south, north on Sabang, south on Palembang, with a medium stiff force to hold Oosthaven open due to P's river port. Began bug-out of all base forces and combat units to those three sites, while digging furiously in top-2.
7. Java I divided E/W on Soerbaja and Batavia. with a strong force in the mountains east of Batavia. Left base forces at the two landing hexes SE of Soerbaja, but they'll only buy a day. All air power to the two bastions with torpedo HQs. Soerbaja is stockpiling supplies, and digging forts rather than worrying about air bases and ports. I won't hold either base on Java; no reason to give him multipliers.
8. The PI I consolidated down south to three bases, Davao the weakest. Moved what I could to Cebu this turn--not much. Will bug the transports out after. I aim to save ships at the expense of the PI army. Up north I plan to make a moderate stand at Manila and get what supply out I can. Pulled everything north back to Clark except a small force at Iba, and a bait-force at Lingayan. I sent five subs with mines to Lingayan, about 100 mines. Hope to slow him there. Digging at Clark with about 50% of my forces, including all tanks. Bataan on strong supply spinner pull-in and stockpile. Sent two HQs and some of the weaker stuff from Manila. Bulk of CAP is over Clark.
9. Sortied all ships in at-risk ports. Took a page from an old Canoerebel game and sent some east right up the middle for Pearl and Dutch Harbor. Split rest about equally on Singers/Darwin/Soerbaja/Brisbane routes. Some might get through. Sent the HK PTs to Manila; will accumulate two hexes of out of fuel damage, but I've always had luck with PTs in the PI. Ships that were not at risk but numerous I mostly sent toward CT. I will run high-speed off-map supply trains from EC to CT for at least one cycle and see where I am.
10. This plan means Perth must stay open. To that I sent a strong Aussie infantry unit there by rail, and ordered satellite units in the west to flow there. Let the beginning unit at Kalgoorie stay put on TOE upgrade. RockyRoo has long preached that a very good way into Oz is from Albany north to Kalgoorie rather than straight in at Perth. I'm also gathering what air power I can spare to Perth--storng patrols--and Force Z will be on call in two days. It worries me that I don't know where most of the magic TFs went.
11. Returning to CONUS, I had to break one way or the other with US air, and I rolled the dice and sent many units, including all my good 2E bombers, toward CT on this turn. I don't know what the situaiton will be in a month, but I think they're better used there than trying to piece them into an east-Pac without strong basing. The CT route lets me get them most of the way to the war zone comletely safe. When they need to come on map to Colombo or maybe northern Sumatra I need to have escorts waiting at CT, including, possibly, Saratogo. I want to wait at least two more turns before I commit a CV to the IO. If I do it'll go off-map too.
12. Returning to Malaysia, I'm doing a modified bug-out. Consolidating the two atomized Indian divisions at Malaca and Alor Star (if he lets me), with one componet infantry battalion taking one swing at the Japanese at Kota Bharu before leaving. My Day 1 intel says KB has only 2400 men ashore, which is probably wrong, but I'm going to risk one attack regardless. Once these two are reformed I plan to head to Singers most likely. I've abandoned Georgetown. Singers has extra mines, all the TBs with strong HQ support, and a good bit of the Dutch navy in TFs on flak duty until I can pull back two AA uinits from Jo. I'm risking a couple fo single large xAKs of fuel up from Palembang to keep the HI furnaces cranking out supply. Singers is stockpiling everything and digging furiiously.
13. In the north, I've sent the Tavoy and the southern hex unit (don't recall name) toward Moulein. We'll see what happens there. Also sent strong supply convoys toward Rangoon. I expect he'll mess with me In China and I want to shove what I can up the Road while it's open. Could be one turn if he gets his paras in shape. I'm going to try a medium stiff stand at Pegu/Rangoon. I've never done this against a human of course, but I may be able to make him pay for the port. I have no trouble sending Dutch subs in there to die if necessary.
14. Flushed surviving subs from Manila on pretty standard zones, up around the invasion beaches. Sent a few to Cam Rahn Bay, Pescadores, and Okinawa to see if they can snipe. The Japanese ASW in December is very, very weak. The Dutch sub whch sank the CL on Turn One got massively worked over inside the harbor at KB and only had 52 float damge. It will easily make SIngers. I think that's about three days' yard time.
15. Almost forgot NG. Started the small units north of the mountains walking home to PM. Used all my patrol planes to start pulling what I could out of Rabaul. Depends on how much time I get. Don't plan to send non-organic reinforcments to PM from Oz. Discussed with Rocky, and he made a good case that my AI habits in this area were more risk than reward. PM will do the best it can. If I can get fighters across in time they might get a small serving to keep Lae honest.
16. The rest was about twelve hours of patrol zones, supply spinning. pilot training, Chinese guys running hither and yon (I'm going to be killed in China, I can already feel it), moving stuff south in the DEI with Dutch patrol planes, and trying to set up soime little interesting traps with night bombing and such. Don't have a lot in the toolbox yet of course.
We'll see what the butcher's bill is in a second PH stike. He might be surprised I left my BBs undocked, locked, and cocked. If he stays for day three he'll be out of torps pretty much, and I may go hunting. Two is rough; three days is showing off.
< Message edited by Bullwinkle58 -- 10/3/2012 1:51:24 AM >
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