Canoerebel
Posts: 21100
Joined: 12/14/2002 From: Northwestern Georgia, USA Status: offline
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2/1/43 It's February! We resumed the game four weeks ago, game time. The activity has been mostly hot and heavy, but the last few days have been blessedly quiet, which I'm thankful for. Battle of Sumatra: No enemy raids by air or by sea. An IJ fast transport TF is unloading another attack force on a Nicobars island, this one defended by 75 AV of the 132nd USA RCT. Allied fighter strength is back over 300, after dipping dangerously low (210) about ten days ago. I'm thinking John will unleash all his might sooner rather than later. But what I'm really hoping is that he is momentarily distracted by Burma. 1st Marines at Sabang are recovering from the devastating defeat at Medan several weeks back. AV is back over 100 and growing steadily, and upgraded devices, like '43 squads, are coming in. Battle of Burma: Japanese bombers and fighter escorts concentrate on the (tempoarily) isolated Allied army, doing insignificant damage. The "cavalry" is 35 of the 46 miles needed to open the hexside, meaning three more days (the unit is making 5 miles per day). Once the hexside is open it will take the Allied units a week or more to evacuate the hex, though John's army may grow stout enought to attack and drive them from the hex. I hope he doesn't, though. The longer this fray draws John's attention, the better. SWPac: Peanut 1 (26), Peanut 2 (34), and Peanut 3 (2). Raiders: All have returned to Perth and Pearl Harbor, fixing repairs and upgrading. So those raids didn't result in any Allied casualties and sank 5 xAK, 3 xAKL and one PB. Sumatra Analysis: In two months, Hellcats come online at 130 per month. If Sabang is still operational at that time (a very big if), that may turn the tide of battle. I doubt John can recapture Sabang inside of two months (absent direct invasion, which is possible but very unlikely given the huge minefield - I can't see John willingly incurring huge ship losses). I certainly think he can reduce and pulverize the base by air by then, making it no longer tenable or defendable. He'll have to overcome the CAP to do so. It's a tough battle, but it's still within his power. He's shown a marked reluctance to engage in a prolonged campaign (with reason, since his pilot casualties must be high), but I think he'll employ this tactic eventually, and probably fairly soon. He can also invade Langsa and try an overland campaign. That might succeed too, but it would probably take a long time. So the air war is possibly his best bet.
< Message edited by Canoerebel -- 1/14/2016 4:34:20 PM >
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