Supplying Cox's Bazar and Darwin

[Hotschi]

Hello everyone, been lurking here since February, purchased this excellent game same month and am currently playing my first campaign (scen 8, Quiet China) into February '43...

.) In India, January '43, I recaptured Cox's Bazar with 3 infantry divisions and 2 armoured units and now realize that supply there will gonna be a problem. Seems to me that no supply can be drawn from overland, so I sent 6 AKL's plus light escorts, which were greeted by dozens of happy Betty's and sent to the bottom.

What shall I do? Keep sending ships to be sunk, or just pull out of Cox again?

.) Same problem in Darwin, which gets bombed every turn by about 24 Betty's plus escorts, supply now down to 19 (!!) and I prepared a large convoy from Perth together with 2 cruisers, which I fear will be sunk while the AK's unload. I already lost a small convoy at Darwin (again 6 AKL's), and although the Allies have hundreds of ships I still don't want to send them on suicide missions.

How to supply Darwin without committting the whole RN to the task?

[herwin]

ORIGINAL: Hotschi

Hello everyone, been lurking here since February, purchased this excellent game same month and am currently playing my first campaign (scen 8, Quiet China) into February '43...

.) In India, January '43, I recaptured Cox's Bazar with 3 infantry divisions and 2 armoured units and now realize that supply there will gonna be a problem. Seems to me that no supply can be drawn from overland, so I sent 6 AKL's plus light escorts, which were greeted by dozens of happy Betty's and sent to the bottom.

What shall I do? Keep sending ships to be sunk, or just pull out of Cox again?

.) Same problem in Darwin, which gets bombed every turn by about 24 Betty's plus escorts, supply now down to 19 (!!) and I prepared a large convoy from Perth together with 2 cruisers, which I fear will be sunk while the AK's unload. I already lost a small convoy at Darwin (again 6 AKL's), and although the Allies have hundreds of ships I still don't want to send them on suicide missions.

How to supply Darwin without committting the whole RN to the task?

In the Pacific campaign, the real battle was for air superiority. Figure out some way (CAP, LRCAP, AA) to make attacking the base too expensive. Meanwhile, sneak supply in. Take advantage of the movement of supply cross-country and from port to port.

[John Lansford]

I used Cox's Bazaar as a launching point for my assault on Akyab, and it always stayed well supplied even with 3 British and 2 Indian divisions there, plus a dozen other units.  I had Chittagong oversupplied so perhaps that's where they came from, but even now the supplies are still flowing to the Bazaar.
 
As for Darwin, I just send a largish convoy up from either Noumea or down from Ceylon whenever they get low.

[sprior]

You need to build up the airfield at Cox's Bazaar at then just shoot the buggers down. Some supply will flow down the track but it's slow.

Darwin has to be supplied by sea. If they take Wyndham, Derby etc you might be in trouble.

[Hotschi]

Thanks for the advice so far.

At the Bazaar, I pulled out the armoured units and 2 infantry divisions to keep demand low, and sent in engineers to build up the airfield. At least the frequent air attacks by the IJAAF gives my guys plenty opportunities to shoot some of them down - my airfields nearby are full with fighters. I have also assigned every transport squadron available in India to supply the Bazaar by air. Akyab nearby will be my next target, the units sent away from Bazaar can just as well prepare their attack on Akyab in a rear location.

Regarding Darwin, I realize I'll have to keep sending ships there - but sending larger convoys that's a good idea, means more supply, more targets for the IJAAF (means they should not be able to sink 'em all) and more AAA to defend. I am not worried that the AI Japanese will invade any town in the vicinity, because I keep the IJN busy in the Solomon area - having recently taken Guadalcanal and Tulagi, it sends carrier after carrier there.

[SuluSea]

ORIGINAL: Hotschi

Hello everyone, been lurking here since February, purchased this excellent game same month and am currently playing my first campaign (scen 8, Quiet China) into February '43...

.) In India, January '43, I recaptured Cox's Bazar with 3 infantry divisions and 2 armoured units and now realize that supply there will gonna be a problem. Seems to me that no supply can be drawn from overland, so I sent 6 AKL's plus light escorts, which were greeted by dozens of happy Betty's and sent to the bottom.

What shall I do? Keep sending ships to be sunk, or just pull out of Cox again?

.) Same problem in Darwin, which gets bombed every turn by about 24 Betty's plus escorts, supply now down to 19 (!!) and I prepared a large convoy from Perth together with 2 cruisers, which I fear will be sunk while the AK's unload. I already lost a small convoy at Darwin (again 6 AKL's), and although the Allies have hundreds of ships I still don't want to send them on suicide missions.

How to supply Darwin without committting the whole RN to the task?

Cox's Bazaar

It sounds like you need to gain air superiorty, in SE India you should be able to close some airfields and erode morale with heavy bombers and also sweeps to attrit the enemy.

Heavy Bombers can go in minus escort, I run them at 11,000 and still close airfields, make sure they are all using the same Air HQ and larger/closer air base the better

Instead of large task forces run in a single AKL w/low value escort .

You should be able to run it from Chittagong to Cox's Bazaar , that way it will be capped instead of LRCAP.

Darwin

Quite simple against the AI-

My game is 9/42 and I have 1/3 of an Australian fighter group and 2 USAAF fighter groups and they own the sky over Darwin
Make sure your base forces have the best radar available defending critical areas and also good AAA.

I'm supplying Darwin with fuel because I'm using it as a forward sub base and supply using around 10 AKLs and 2 AMs out of Perth with Port Hedland as an assembly port. My supply is at 25,000 to 27,000 coupled with building port/airfield/forts.

I make a supply TF using 5 AKLs and 1 AM to a hex west of Broome from there I'll single them up and run the gauntlet staying close to the shore as possible. One AKL leaves the nest every turn. (hear this Andy Mac)[:D] I've been doing this for months and no AKLs have been attacked by air or sea, tried it with an AK and it found the bottom. From hex 66/123 they'll make a high speed dash almost down to Wyndham (hex 71/125) from that point cruise to Darwin. Just return in reverse order.

I'm not LRCAPing any of this as bases from Broome to Wyndham are vacant.

In my game I just about have Normanton up and running as the Gulf of Carpentaria seems quiet so this may be a more viable area of operation for milk runs to Darwin and possible Ops aginst the DEI.

Good Luck!

[lazydawg]

The monsoon season (January - April) will slow down supply movement & Cox's Bazar is subject to the monsoon supply effects.

[Walloc]

ORIGINAL: ncdawg

The monsoon season (January - April) will slow down supply movement & Cox's Bazar is subject to the monsoon supply effects.

Actually, the initial notes on the monsoon season was off. Its confirmed by Andy not being Jan-April, but from 15th of May to the 15th of Oct.

Just wanted you to know,

Rasmus

[herwin]

ORIGINAL: Walloc

ORIGINAL: ncdawg

The monsoon season (January - April) will slow down supply movement & Cox's Bazar is subject to the monsoon supply effects.

Actually, the initial notes on the monsoon season was off. Its confirmed by Andy not being Jan-April, but from 15th of May to the 15th of Oct.

Just wanted you to know,

Rasmus

Yes. The spring 1944 campaign in Burma was shut down by the monsoon about May-June.

[lazydawg]

ORIGINAL: herwin

ORIGINAL: Walloc

ORIGINAL: ncdawg

The monsoon season (January - April) will slow down supply movement & Cox's Bazar is subject to the monsoon supply effects.

Actually, the initial notes on the monsoon season was off. Its confirmed by Andy not being Jan-April, but from 15th of May to the 15th of Oct.

Just wanted you to know,

Rasmus

Yes. The spring 1944 campaign in Burma was shut down by the monsoon about May-June.

Thanks for the heads-up! This one slipped by me.

[xj900uk]

You can always use transport planes like the DC3 from a railroad-connected supply source (which for Darwin is some way south but within range) - this is what happened in real life

[John Lansford]

There's no way that I can gain air superiority over my Burmese bases.  The AI is sending dozens of Oscars over my bases every day, both on sweeps and escorting their bombers.  The only reason I'm advancing in this theater is because the AI's bombers are incompetent, have light bombloads, and no more than 10-15 at a time attack my ground units.  All my Hurricane and P-40 squadrons get chewed up within a week of deployment, so I've pulled all of them out of the front lines and use them now only for base defense over Diamond Harbor and Calcutta.

[JeffroK]

I have noticed since the last patch that its harder to get supply into Darwin.

Its probably realistic that running ships is hard, IRL the japanese didnt concentrate its anti shipping efforts on Northern Australia, if in game the player wants to he has a number of bases within comfortable range and can interdict convoys.

I tried in a mod, copying the auto convoys which arrive in Cape Town, to represent the significant effort put in to supply Darwin by road. I did a bit of fiddling as the intention was to keep Darwin LCU & LBA alive, not create a base for an invasion into SE Asia.  Last try was 2500 pts per month, worked OK for 42-43, I think it would have to increase in 44-45 to supply any B24 bombing from the area.

xj900uk,
If you are talking about Alice Springs I think its too far to be efficient, If you mean Katherine, how do the supplies get that far?

SuluSea,
I've had 100+ raids with strong escort hit Darwin and the NW Aust bases, chews up supply and fighters real fast. I suppose different AI scripts can change the game.
For Cox's Bazaar or Akyab, I collect every possible Air Transport and base them out of Dacca, Chittagong, Calcutta, Diamond Harbour and practise for the Berlin Airlift!

[ny59giants]

Don't forget about using Command HQs to draw supply. Move one of them to Chittagong. This base it at the end of a RR and after a few turns will start to draw extra supply to the base. Then increase your supply requirements at Cox Bazaar by about 10,000. You will lose some due to it going over trails vs roads or RR. But as the Allies, you can afford it. [:D]

[Hotschi]

Okay, supplying the Bazaar by air works for me now, as said I have moved all the divisions out and keep only a small garrison there.

Darwin is a lost cause for me, I withdrew the one large convoy as CA Exeter and Dorsetshire were already bombed and damaged en route to Darwin - a couple AKL's were sunk when attemtping to make a run east. I realize, that when the japanese bombing started, I made a huge mistake when I withdrew almost all airplanes, anticipating a invasion. So let's wait and see what happens.