paradigmblue
Posts: 784
Joined: 9/16/2014 From: Fairbanks, Alaska Status: offline
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When I created the Focus Pacific mod, one of my goals was to create a more engaging early game conflict that created speedbumps for the Japanese steam roller in 1941 and early 1942, while giving Japan more staying power in the mid and late game. I think it's fair to say, however, that in doing so I created a bit of a monster in the new allied OOB. The allies in Focus Pacific are much better prepared for the coming conflict. They have more carriers, better defenses, and a new, powerful ally in the form of an alt-history French navy along with beefed up Dutch forces. In addition, Japan now has to contend with active Soviets, creating a new front in the war that is worryingly close to home. In this game, I find myself in a situation where I'm pitted against the very monster of my own creation, and as a very poor Japan player to begin with, I'm going to have to work very hard to try and come out on top of what will be an exceedingly challenging game for me. December 7th, 1941 For the first turn, my primary goal was to try and eliminate several "speedbumps" before they become major problems for me: Kwangchowan Kwangchowan in Focus Pacific is home to Fort Bayard, a french stronghold left after the fall of French Indochina. With a good airfield, a small detachment of capable destroyers, and skilled pilots flying modern aircraft, it can be a huge thorn in Japan's side. To address this, I sweep with squadrons from Samah during the day. My goal here is to start to degrade the CAP over this hex, so my bombers can eventually clean up the airfield. To assist with this, I transferred some of the KB's heavy hitters to the small bombardment group they start in the same hex with, and redirected it to Kwangchowan instead of Midway. Great, that should give me the advantage I need over the next few turns to overwhelm his CAP and shut down this airfield. Subs Allied subs are much more dangerous in Focus Pacific, for a couple of reasons. USN boats get the option to convert to an "A" version, which fires a more reliable version of the Mk-14. This torpedo, with its lower dud rate, makes these subs much more of a threat than in stock. Also, there are just simply more allied subs in the water. Most importantly to me right now is all of the Soviet subs, which operate out of bases very close to my home ports. Eliminating those subs has to be a priority so that I can keep my shipping lanes safe. To that end, I start the game by wrecking a Soviet sub base. Sweeps go in first. And then the bombers. At least 5 subs go down, hopefully more will succumb to damage. From experience, I know that Vladivostok is a tougher nut to crack, so I intentionally don't hit that port quite yet. It has more subs docked at turn 1, but it also has better AA and more CAP. Hitting the sub base just south of Vladivostok is more of a sure thing. The Philippines In Focus Pacific, the Philippines are a significant speedbump. Both Clark Field and Manilla are well supplied, have more aircraft, and are in 4EB range of some of my valuable ports and industry. Moreover, Focus Pacific builds Cebu into a formidable USN air base, with squadrons of Buffalo, Vindicators and Devastators. No invasion can proceed until Cebu's ability to launch strikes is mitigated. I've always liked a Manilla strike, especially in Focus Pacific, because it leaves the KB positioned to do the most good in supporting the crucial early-game invasions that need to happen for Japan. I'm usually on the receiving end, of course, so it's nice to return the favor to the allies. Sweeps go in first. Then the KB strike. Yes, the KB is a bit bigger in Focus Pacific. The goal here isn't just to sink the ships in the harbor, but also to degrade Luzon's air power so that LBA can take over for the KB when it leaves. To that end, all of my Vals are set to attack the airfield, not the port. I wish I had gotten more Warhawks, but damaging those Catalinas and Liberators isn't a bad result either. The Kates swing toward the port: Good to see those sinking subs. Now that the KB has said its piece, it's time for LBA to go to work. With multiple bases to pull from, it's hard to completely shut down CAP in Luzon. More subs hit the bottom. Amazingly, a second KB strike flies in the afternoon. It's only 27 Kates, but they put the finishing touches on a few ships. I also hit Iba airfield. I could have gone for Clark field, but Iba doesn't have nearly as much CAP or AA as Clark does. Like the soviet sub base I hit, it's not the juiciest target, but it's more of a sure thing. Grounding that many fighters is going to help quite a bit in trying to achieve air superiority over Luzon. In Focus Pacific, doing so can be a real challenge. KB-2 flanks the Philippines from the other side, and bombs Cebu airfield. I cobbled KB-2 out of a few different carrier forces near Babeldaob. Lots of nasty stuff here that can interfere with my invasions. Better to nip it in the bud now. Finally, to help smooth out the Philippines landings that are coming in the next few turns, I use paratroopers to capture the invasion targets. This will ensure that the landings proceed without the disruption and losses that come from amphibious landings on hostile beaches. Other Strikes I reach for more low-hanging fruit and bomb Georgetown, hoping to sink some of the ships in the harbor. At least one xAP goes down. CAP is stronger than expected here, and my Nells get the worst of it. What's this? Force Z? Unfortunately, my opponent forgets about them, leaving them exposed to my Bettie and Nells. While I get good torpedo hits with these strikes, the cost in bombers is tremendous, and I lose at least 35 bombers due to strong CAP sortieing from Singapore over Force Z. I get very lucky here. At the least, Force Z will be laid up in yards for the next few months. Conclusion Overall, it was a successful first turn, and I achieved my first turn goals of 1)weakening the allied sub force, with strikes on Manilla and a Soviet sub base, 2)reducing Kwangchowan's air strength so that it doesn't interfere with operations in China, and 3)Reducing Luzon's air strength so that my invasions can proceed unhindered. The huge weakness of this stratagem is that I've left myself completely exposed in the Pacific. BillBrown can now run his carriers unchecked through that theater. I need to pivot quickly before Bill Brown uses this weakness to disrupt my early-game Pacific invasions. To that end, KB-2 will be rendezvousing with one of my CVs that is now attached to the Guam invasion fleet and proceed to cover these Pacific invasions and the Rabaul/Guadacanal region.
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