Into The Unknown Taxcutter vs. Ironman
Moderators: wdolson, MOD_War-in-the-Pacific-Admirals-Edition
RE: Into The Unknown Taxcutter vs. Ironman
I'm thinking not more than three raids a week on Truk until I can pare down the numbers a bit.
RE: Into The Unknown Taxcutter vs. Ironman
Just when you think you've got Ironman beaten down a hundred Oscar IIa show up in Bangkok. their pilots aren't very good - I'm generating aces by the dozen - but they are still a danger to unescorted 2E bombers. In my P-40N25, P-38J, and P47D25 squadrons you ain't nothin' if you don't have 25 kills.
When playing Ironman you have to manage your replacement pools and pilots. Right now, if a squadron is short ready plance, I sit down the most experienced pilots in most situations) and make the EXP=55+ pilots fly the missions. Save the studs for big missions and when airframes become dear. I'm also flying a lot of replacements in bomber squadrons to get some experience. It comes slowly for bomber aircrew.
My USAAF 2E bomber replacement pools are empty. I have a bunch of 6-9 plane squadrons flying around. I still have B-26 squadrons flying at quarter strength.
My policy of keeping my Death Star together for the big one with KB does not let me build up big reserves of carrier trained fighter pilots. I have 3xCVE at San Diego training up marine pilots. The squadrons are made up of land based marine veterans of t least 75 experience. When they get carrier trained I'll refit them with F4U-1D.
Feb. 1944. Far to the northwest Jimmy Doolittle and Herman Goering are stuffing the Mighty Eighth and the Luftwaffe into the old chipper/shredder in a death match for air superiority. Good thing Dolittle doesn't have to fight an opponent with Ironman's deep OOB.
In the Formosa straits Mush Morton ignored my orders and ran the Wahoo up the shaft alley of a E class escort to try to kill their skipper with a .45. 6 hits. No more Wahoo. Too bad. Wahoo had sunk six ships in five days.
When playing Ironman you have to manage your replacement pools and pilots. Right now, if a squadron is short ready plance, I sit down the most experienced pilots in most situations) and make the EXP=55+ pilots fly the missions. Save the studs for big missions and when airframes become dear. I'm also flying a lot of replacements in bomber squadrons to get some experience. It comes slowly for bomber aircrew.
My USAAF 2E bomber replacement pools are empty. I have a bunch of 6-9 plane squadrons flying around. I still have B-26 squadrons flying at quarter strength.
My policy of keeping my Death Star together for the big one with KB does not let me build up big reserves of carrier trained fighter pilots. I have 3xCVE at San Diego training up marine pilots. The squadrons are made up of land based marine veterans of t least 75 experience. When they get carrier trained I'll refit them with F4U-1D.
Feb. 1944. Far to the northwest Jimmy Doolittle and Herman Goering are stuffing the Mighty Eighth and the Luftwaffe into the old chipper/shredder in a death match for air superiority. Good thing Dolittle doesn't have to fight an opponent with Ironman's deep OOB.
In the Formosa straits Mush Morton ignored my orders and ran the Wahoo up the shaft alley of a E class escort to try to kill their skipper with a .45. 6 hits. No more Wahoo. Too bad. Wahoo had sunk six ships in five days.
RE: Into The Unknown Taxcutter vs. Ironman
Not three days after Mush Morton and Wahoo picked on the wrong E-class escort, another one got Sam Dealey and the Harder. Bummer.
To make things worse the cloud of low EXP Oscars killed 4 P-38 aces in a sweep over Rangoon.
On the positive side Indian engineers reduced the fortifications at Rangoon from 8 to 6 and Crevalle got two torpedo hits on the Shokaku just outside Tokyo.
To make things worse the cloud of low EXP Oscars killed 4 P-38 aces in a sweep over Rangoon.
On the positive side Indian engineers reduced the fortifications at Rangoon from 8 to 6 and Crevalle got two torpedo hits on the Shokaku just outside Tokyo.
RE: Into The Unknown Taxcutter vs. Ironman
The Jap E boats are really nasty. My sympathies. 
RE: Into The Unknown Taxcutter vs. Ironman
Feb. 23, 1944 Sitrep:
Not much action. My Chinese did eliminate a 17,000 man pocket west of Kweilin. Ironman did make an attack of Changsha, but didn't allow enough AV. I have two corps en route by rail.
My enormous Indian army has reduced the Rangoon forts to level 3 and mangle his infantry down to nearly nothing. But supply limits attacks. The air meat grinder grinds on. I now have multiple 40+ kill aces.
I'm trying to pickup the invasion tempo. I have a invasion force headed for Umboi Island 3 US Army infantry regiments plus a battalion of tanks and some artllery. airedle recon shows three units - 1 infantry and 2 REMF. I'm forming up my main push for Finchaven. 2 US Army divisions a two armored battalions, some combat engineers and three artillery units - all 100% prepped. Plenty of APA and LST to cary them and get them ashore quickly. Recon show 12,000 Japanese of some description. I need Finchhaven to support an attack on Lae. Recon shows roughly 30,000 men and I can't adequately supply an attack through Salamaua. I have Lae/Finchhaven surrounded on the landward side. I have two USA Army divisions freed up from the Port Moresby operation. I killed all but a single beaten-down isolated brigade which got away into the high value defensive terrain. I'll let them feed the jungle bugs without bothering them. They're out of supply I have dug-in defense battalions at Terapo and Port moresby. the Australian 6th, 7th, and 9th Divisions are march back to PM to go back to OZ and prep for a blitz in front of Darwin.
I have three USMC divisions at Pearl and nearly prepped up for Gilberts/Marshalls invasions. I'm doing a little recon in force with the USS Nevada on a bombardment mission. Close enough to Kwaj that if KB is hiding there Ironman will be tempted. My Death Star is five hexes back and loaded for bear.
If KB is not at Truk, they might be based somewhere round Haiphong. Every turn Ironman throws scads of carrier-type planes at the Chinese (using the chinese as a training target range.
At current Rate Schussel will be parading through Tokyo before I can nab the Marianas. Ironman of not, I gotta pick it up.
Not much action. My Chinese did eliminate a 17,000 man pocket west of Kweilin. Ironman did make an attack of Changsha, but didn't allow enough AV. I have two corps en route by rail.
My enormous Indian army has reduced the Rangoon forts to level 3 and mangle his infantry down to nearly nothing. But supply limits attacks. The air meat grinder grinds on. I now have multiple 40+ kill aces.
I'm trying to pickup the invasion tempo. I have a invasion force headed for Umboi Island 3 US Army infantry regiments plus a battalion of tanks and some artllery. airedle recon shows three units - 1 infantry and 2 REMF. I'm forming up my main push for Finchaven. 2 US Army divisions a two armored battalions, some combat engineers and three artillery units - all 100% prepped. Plenty of APA and LST to cary them and get them ashore quickly. Recon show 12,000 Japanese of some description. I need Finchhaven to support an attack on Lae. Recon shows roughly 30,000 men and I can't adequately supply an attack through Salamaua. I have Lae/Finchhaven surrounded on the landward side. I have two USA Army divisions freed up from the Port Moresby operation. I killed all but a single beaten-down isolated brigade which got away into the high value defensive terrain. I'll let them feed the jungle bugs without bothering them. They're out of supply I have dug-in defense battalions at Terapo and Port moresby. the Australian 6th, 7th, and 9th Divisions are march back to PM to go back to OZ and prep for a blitz in front of Darwin.
I have three USMC divisions at Pearl and nearly prepped up for Gilberts/Marshalls invasions. I'm doing a little recon in force with the USS Nevada on a bombardment mission. Close enough to Kwaj that if KB is hiding there Ironman will be tempted. My Death Star is five hexes back and loaded for bear.
If KB is not at Truk, they might be based somewhere round Haiphong. Every turn Ironman throws scads of carrier-type planes at the Chinese (using the chinese as a training target range.
At current Rate Schussel will be parading through Tokyo before I can nab the Marianas. Ironman of not, I gotta pick it up.
RE: Into The Unknown Taxcutter vs. Ironman
Sitrep Feb. 25, 1944
Umboi Island falls to 3 separate regiments, a battalion of Marine paratroopers (within days of withdrawal) a battalion of Stuart tanks, and three battalions of 105 howitzers. One regiment was about 30% attrited, the others about 10%. The two less beaten-up infantry regiments, the tanks and the artillery are loading up to reinforce the upcoming landings at Finchhaven (two or three days out). Base forces and engineers are inbound to Umboi - 2 or 3 days out.
I have an infantry division in Lae. I marched them around the north side to get around the river. They are currently probing the Lae position and bombarding as supply allows.
If I can successfully land at Finchaven this might be a short campaign. I have a couple of US infantry divisions around PM.
I have second-line transports en route to PM to pull the Australian 6th, 7th, and 9th Divisions back to finished prepping for Babar and Saumlaki. I take those two islands and get some fighter in it, I'll move SW Pac HQ (and supply/support) to Darwin. I've been running small (30,000 ton) supply/fuel convoys into Darwin. I plan to run a two-prong offensive through the eastern DEI. After taking Babar/Saumlaki, the Australians will take Timor (possibly a tough nut but I need the bases) then into Celebes (Kendari & Makassar) with an eye to Balikpapan and Borneo.
After cleaning out the Lae pocket the SW Pac US forces will pick off isolated bases to the east of the Australian drive working toward Sorong, Morotai, and the PI side of the passage between Borbeo and the PI.
I am loading a two-division assault force in Noumea to take Green Island. After that I may give Manaus a go. It is awfully handy to base B-24s to bomb Truk. Serious bombing Truk will wait til I take Tarawa, Kwaj, Eniwetok and Ponape. Til then I'll send in high-altitude nuisance raids and some night port mining. Who knows, maybe I'll locate KB.
Truk is too heavily garrisoned to run across their front like real-life MacArthur did in the spring of 1944.
Right now I'm in a sweet spot. In Betty range but out of Zero range for land-based air out of Truk. His Betties try to raid may amphib TFs but they are well covered by land based fighters and Wildcats on CVEs. Wildcats and P-39s (I still have scads of them) may be meat on the table for Zeroes but they shoot down Batties nice as you could ask.
I am currently husbanding P-38s and B-24J, building up pools for the neutralization of Truk.
I am thinking moving SoPac HQ from Noumea to Lae/Finchhaven use the army exterminates the garrison. I have lots of unemployed engineers who could build up those bases fairly quickly. Rather than let SoPac get pinched off frm the action I'll have them work of the periphery picking off Ocean & Nauru, maybe even Ponape if the shipping situation is right.
I'm building up a 3 division assault fleet at Pearl. I have an assault fleet that can move 3 divisions at once at Noumea. Unless I get really surprised, I should have enough shipping to handle two major thrusts.
It may have come at the price of inefficiency in 1943 but I an fat on tankers and oiler, and have big supply/fuel depots at Pearl, Noumea, Brisbane, Sydney, and Noumea. I am building up Perth to support a thrust into China but that's a ways off. Perth is a three week voyage from anywhere.
I have the forts at Rangoon beaten down to level one and 2400 raw AV in place to assault and dozens of engineer and base force units nearby, just waiting for a home. I have a Indian para unit operating in space from Chiang Mai. I look to cut the last supply routes from Bangkok to central Burma. But I still have to take Rangoon. I have two LST-heavy convoys to rush into Rangoon (with heavy escort) once I get control of the port. Then I can drfive south to north against poorly supplied IJA units around Mandalay.
Still, I have to drive myself to pick up the tempo.
Umboi Island falls to 3 separate regiments, a battalion of Marine paratroopers (within days of withdrawal) a battalion of Stuart tanks, and three battalions of 105 howitzers. One regiment was about 30% attrited, the others about 10%. The two less beaten-up infantry regiments, the tanks and the artillery are loading up to reinforce the upcoming landings at Finchhaven (two or three days out). Base forces and engineers are inbound to Umboi - 2 or 3 days out.
I have an infantry division in Lae. I marched them around the north side to get around the river. They are currently probing the Lae position and bombarding as supply allows.
If I can successfully land at Finchaven this might be a short campaign. I have a couple of US infantry divisions around PM.
I have second-line transports en route to PM to pull the Australian 6th, 7th, and 9th Divisions back to finished prepping for Babar and Saumlaki. I take those two islands and get some fighter in it, I'll move SW Pac HQ (and supply/support) to Darwin. I've been running small (30,000 ton) supply/fuel convoys into Darwin. I plan to run a two-prong offensive through the eastern DEI. After taking Babar/Saumlaki, the Australians will take Timor (possibly a tough nut but I need the bases) then into Celebes (Kendari & Makassar) with an eye to Balikpapan and Borneo.
After cleaning out the Lae pocket the SW Pac US forces will pick off isolated bases to the east of the Australian drive working toward Sorong, Morotai, and the PI side of the passage between Borbeo and the PI.
I am loading a two-division assault force in Noumea to take Green Island. After that I may give Manaus a go. It is awfully handy to base B-24s to bomb Truk. Serious bombing Truk will wait til I take Tarawa, Kwaj, Eniwetok and Ponape. Til then I'll send in high-altitude nuisance raids and some night port mining. Who knows, maybe I'll locate KB.
Truk is too heavily garrisoned to run across their front like real-life MacArthur did in the spring of 1944.
Right now I'm in a sweet spot. In Betty range but out of Zero range for land-based air out of Truk. His Betties try to raid may amphib TFs but they are well covered by land based fighters and Wildcats on CVEs. Wildcats and P-39s (I still have scads of them) may be meat on the table for Zeroes but they shoot down Batties nice as you could ask.
I am currently husbanding P-38s and B-24J, building up pools for the neutralization of Truk.
I am thinking moving SoPac HQ from Noumea to Lae/Finchhaven use the army exterminates the garrison. I have lots of unemployed engineers who could build up those bases fairly quickly. Rather than let SoPac get pinched off frm the action I'll have them work of the periphery picking off Ocean & Nauru, maybe even Ponape if the shipping situation is right.
I'm building up a 3 division assault fleet at Pearl. I have an assault fleet that can move 3 divisions at once at Noumea. Unless I get really surprised, I should have enough shipping to handle two major thrusts.
It may have come at the price of inefficiency in 1943 but I an fat on tankers and oiler, and have big supply/fuel depots at Pearl, Noumea, Brisbane, Sydney, and Noumea. I am building up Perth to support a thrust into China but that's a ways off. Perth is a three week voyage from anywhere.
I have the forts at Rangoon beaten down to level one and 2400 raw AV in place to assault and dozens of engineer and base force units nearby, just waiting for a home. I have a Indian para unit operating in space from Chiang Mai. I look to cut the last supply routes from Bangkok to central Burma. But I still have to take Rangoon. I have two LST-heavy convoys to rush into Rangoon (with heavy escort) once I get control of the port. Then I can drfive south to north against poorly supplied IJA units around Mandalay.
Still, I have to drive myself to pick up the tempo.
RE: Into The Unknown Taxcutter vs. Ironman
Sitrep March 3, 1944
Finchhaven fell without much of a fight. Two days. Now for Lae. I already have division and three artillery battalions from SW Pac in hex and am bombarding. Supply (through jungle) is sketchy. I have a division and two regiments of infantry plus armor and artillery moving from Finchaven. I have engineers and base force in both recent conquests an I should have at least CPA in a couple of days.
xAPs moving I Aus Corp back to Sydney to prep for Saumlaki/Babar.
I have two US divisions prepped and ready to go for invasion of Green Island soon as APA/LST return to Noumea. Recon shows a 10,000 man garrison.
My recon in force at Baker was successful. I think I've worked out some efficient TF compositions. No respsone from Truk.
No progress at Rangoon. My big army eats a lot of supply.
Building up APA/LST shipping at Pearl.
Finchhaven fell without much of a fight. Two days. Now for Lae. I already have division and three artillery battalions from SW Pac in hex and am bombarding. Supply (through jungle) is sketchy. I have a division and two regiments of infantry plus armor and artillery moving from Finchaven. I have engineers and base force in both recent conquests an I should have at least CPA in a couple of days.
xAPs moving I Aus Corp back to Sydney to prep for Saumlaki/Babar.
I have two US divisions prepped and ready to go for invasion of Green Island soon as APA/LST return to Noumea. Recon shows a 10,000 man garrison.
My recon in force at Baker was successful. I think I've worked out some efficient TF compositions. No respsone from Truk.
No progress at Rangoon. My big army eats a lot of supply.
Building up APA/LST shipping at Pearl.
RE: Into The Unknown Taxcutter vs. Ironman
Sitrep March 13, 1944
Ironman is doin' some serious 'splainin' to the Emperor. I have taken the bases at Lae and Rangoon. Remainer of both garrisons isolated and out of supply. Mop-up time. 17,000 and 29,000 men in pockets respectively - almost all REMFs. I am running Malta convoys of LSTs loaded with supply into Rangoon. Rangoon captured nearly intact and I have at least 3 construction engineers to repair it. I have over 200 air support within a hex. I intend to base six FG of US fighters (P-40N5, P-47D, and P-38J in Rangoon Bassein, and Pergo. Ironman has scads of planes in Moulmein and Tavoy. High probability of widely scattered aluminum the next few weeks.
Ironman, in an unusually savvy land action sent two divisions of RTA and chased my para force out of Chiang Mai. As a result he still has a supply path for units in central Burma.
I'm collection APA/LST at Noumea to invade Gree Island with two divisions. Airedale recon shows 10,000 men on Green. with bases on Green,Buka, and Torokina I can get B-24s over Truk. At 28,000 ft altitude his hordes of Oscars aren't big threat. I really want to rouse KB out of Truk.
I am shifting I Aus Corps to Darwin and planning many invasions.
I have to shift 20 APA to Pearl to get central pacific ops going.
Ironman is doin' some serious 'splainin' to the Emperor. I have taken the bases at Lae and Rangoon. Remainer of both garrisons isolated and out of supply. Mop-up time. 17,000 and 29,000 men in pockets respectively - almost all REMFs. I am running Malta convoys of LSTs loaded with supply into Rangoon. Rangoon captured nearly intact and I have at least 3 construction engineers to repair it. I have over 200 air support within a hex. I intend to base six FG of US fighters (P-40N5, P-47D, and P-38J in Rangoon Bassein, and Pergo. Ironman has scads of planes in Moulmein and Tavoy. High probability of widely scattered aluminum the next few weeks.
Ironman, in an unusually savvy land action sent two divisions of RTA and chased my para force out of Chiang Mai. As a result he still has a supply path for units in central Burma.
I'm collection APA/LST at Noumea to invade Gree Island with two divisions. Airedale recon shows 10,000 men on Green. with bases on Green,Buka, and Torokina I can get B-24s over Truk. At 28,000 ft altitude his hordes of Oscars aren't big threat. I really want to rouse KB out of Truk.
I am shifting I Aus Corps to Darwin and planning many invasions.
I have to shift 20 APA to Pearl to get central pacific ops going.
RE: Into The Unknown Taxcutter vs. Ironman
Those three engineer guys are not going to get much done, especially when they get tired of the 18 hour workdays. Engineers need their beer time. Send them some help.
No matter how bad a situation is, you can always make it worse. - Chris Hadfield : An Astronaut's Guide To Life On Earth
RE: Into The Unknown Taxcutter vs. Ironman
At least Ironman is putting up a bit of a fight into 44 hope its not too easy
RE: Into The Unknown Taxcutter vs. Ironman
Just the immense aircraft pools make Ironman difficult to fight. I run him out of Rangoon and find 300 planes at Moulmein.
Ironman surprised me at Chiang Mai. It was not a surprise to find two RTA divisions in Thailand, but when he counterattacked and mangled an Indian para brigade ... that was a surprise.
Ironman surprised me at Chiang Mai. It was not a surprise to find two RTA divisions in Thailand, but when he counterattacked and mangled an Indian para brigade ... that was a surprise.
RE: Into The Unknown Taxcutter vs. Ironman
I am amzed it still surprises you so late into the game I never get to see how the late war scripts work v a player so I am loving this AAR
RE: Into The Unknown Taxcutter vs. Ironman
I don't kid myself I'm fighting anything but a static script, but I play deep into games like this as a "training mission."
I promise myself that one of these days I'll retire and have the time to play a long game against a real opponent. Hopefully he won't wax me before 1/1/42.
I have found that a lot of the dynamics of this game change after about March 1943 for the allies, at least. Amphibious warfare dominates and management of shipping, mostly. Ironman has taught me lots about HR management of air and sub units. Hell, just the real time it takes to run through the orders phase can be an issue. I find myself falling asleep by time I reach the Indian Ocean.
BTW, hardware issues again. I think it is my graphics card freezing up. AARs will slow down til I get that fixed. Right after that I'm facing the worst nightmare of anyone who has ever been a jock (even if if was 45 years ago) - knee replacement and rehab. Things could slow down over the next three months. OTOH, it looks like "World of Tanks" is dying in North America so that may free up some time/energy.
I promise myself that one of these days I'll retire and have the time to play a long game against a real opponent. Hopefully he won't wax me before 1/1/42.
I have found that a lot of the dynamics of this game change after about March 1943 for the allies, at least. Amphibious warfare dominates and management of shipping, mostly. Ironman has taught me lots about HR management of air and sub units. Hell, just the real time it takes to run through the orders phase can be an issue. I find myself falling asleep by time I reach the Indian Ocean.
BTW, hardware issues again. I think it is my graphics card freezing up. AARs will slow down til I get that fixed. Right after that I'm facing the worst nightmare of anyone who has ever been a jock (even if if was 45 years ago) - knee replacement and rehab. Things could slow down over the next three months. OTOH, it looks like "World of Tanks" is dying in North America so that may free up some time/energy.
RE: Into The Unknown Taxcutter vs. Ironman
Hardware problems seem to be fixed.
Sitrep March 23, 1944.
Big news is I now hold Rangoon in force. An 80,000 ton supply convoys fixes a world of logistical ills. Air support units are in place in Rangoon and Bassein and more on the way to Pergo and Prome.
Ironman threw the kitchen sink (and the neighbors' kitchen sink) at my "Malta Convoy." I was waiting for them with hundreds of fighters, plus the 150 naval fighters of the convoy. Ironman even threw kamizazes at them. He managed to seriously damage three LSTs.
Now I have 90 Spit VIIIs and 100 P-47s on point defense CAP in Rangoon and 64 Hurri IIs at Bssein. Corsairs and B-24s are pummelling his base at Moulmein. But Ironman's pool of Oscar II variants (with EXP=45 pilots) seems bottomless. So I'm generating aces at a fearsome rate. My four USMC F4U-1A squadrons keep my USMC TRACON fully staffed.
I have an invasion force making for Green Island, followed by various useful REMF units. Once I get Green operational, I have beaucoup B-24J full-strength bomb groups ready to start pelting Truk. I'll start with port strikes. Recon shows over 200 ships in the port (maybe KB?) so even at 27,000 feet the B-24s will hit something. I have a dozen subs stationed outside Truk. Maybe if I stir up those snoozing ships my sub skippers can feast.
Other than the Green Island invasion, most of my shipping assets are tied up dragging the assault units out of Moresby, Lae and Finschaven. Those 2-level ports are a pain.
Once Green is in hand, I'll send enough APA/LST to easily lift two USMC divisions plus artillery, tanks, combat engineers etc to PH. I'll start the Gilberts/Marshalls campaign after Truk gets tenderized a bit.
Building up supply/fuel at Darwin and Perth to support ops in the DEI.
I have the Wasp training three 24 x F4U-1A (Exp=80+) "TRACOM carrier fighter squadrons to take on Ironman's IJNAF. One of my P-38 squadrons found out the Saburo Sakai lives and is flying out of Manaus. I'll grind them down with a FG full of P-47D25s with pilots averaging 75+ experience. Air ops in the Solomons are in a sweet spot. In range of betties at Truk but out of range of Zeros based there. Aggressive COs try to bomb me in the Solomons but all that does is generate lots of P-39 and P-400 aces. I keep those planes in point defense and run in small supply convoys to attract unwary Betty drivers. I don't kid myself I'll ever drain Ironman's Betty pool but i will degrade his crew quality. Also Betties burn a lot of supply, so maybe as sub or two gets another AKL contact.
Sitrep March 23, 1944.
Big news is I now hold Rangoon in force. An 80,000 ton supply convoys fixes a world of logistical ills. Air support units are in place in Rangoon and Bassein and more on the way to Pergo and Prome.
Ironman threw the kitchen sink (and the neighbors' kitchen sink) at my "Malta Convoy." I was waiting for them with hundreds of fighters, plus the 150 naval fighters of the convoy. Ironman even threw kamizazes at them. He managed to seriously damage three LSTs.
Now I have 90 Spit VIIIs and 100 P-47s on point defense CAP in Rangoon and 64 Hurri IIs at Bssein. Corsairs and B-24s are pummelling his base at Moulmein. But Ironman's pool of Oscar II variants (with EXP=45 pilots) seems bottomless. So I'm generating aces at a fearsome rate. My four USMC F4U-1A squadrons keep my USMC TRACON fully staffed.
I have an invasion force making for Green Island, followed by various useful REMF units. Once I get Green operational, I have beaucoup B-24J full-strength bomb groups ready to start pelting Truk. I'll start with port strikes. Recon shows over 200 ships in the port (maybe KB?) so even at 27,000 feet the B-24s will hit something. I have a dozen subs stationed outside Truk. Maybe if I stir up those snoozing ships my sub skippers can feast.
Other than the Green Island invasion, most of my shipping assets are tied up dragging the assault units out of Moresby, Lae and Finschaven. Those 2-level ports are a pain.
Once Green is in hand, I'll send enough APA/LST to easily lift two USMC divisions plus artillery, tanks, combat engineers etc to PH. I'll start the Gilberts/Marshalls campaign after Truk gets tenderized a bit.
Building up supply/fuel at Darwin and Perth to support ops in the DEI.
I have the Wasp training three 24 x F4U-1A (Exp=80+) "TRACOM carrier fighter squadrons to take on Ironman's IJNAF. One of my P-38 squadrons found out the Saburo Sakai lives and is flying out of Manaus. I'll grind them down with a FG full of P-47D25s with pilots averaging 75+ experience. Air ops in the Solomons are in a sweet spot. In range of betties at Truk but out of range of Zeros based there. Aggressive COs try to bomb me in the Solomons but all that does is generate lots of P-39 and P-400 aces. I keep those planes in point defense and run in small supply convoys to attract unwary Betty drivers. I don't kid myself I'll ever drain Ironman's Betty pool but i will degrade his crew quality. Also Betties burn a lot of supply, so maybe as sub or two gets another AKL contact.
RE: Into The Unknown Taxcutter vs. Ironman
Update: April 1, 1944
Green Island taken IJA exterminated. Will start removing assault force tomorrow.
Green Island taken IJA exterminated. Will start removing assault force tomorrow.
RE: Into The Unknown Taxcutter vs. Ironman
April 2.1944 Update
For unknown reasons my entire WitP-AE app was completely deleted.
I've had a long and checkered past with WitP-AE but every previous outraged left SOMETHING to rebuild.
This time something removed every bit and byte from two hard drives. No other apps affected.
For unknown reasons my entire WitP-AE app was completely deleted.
I've had a long and checkered past with WitP-AE but every previous outraged left SOMETHING to rebuild.
This time something removed every bit and byte from two hard drives. No other apps affected.
RE: Into The Unknown Taxcutter vs. Ironman
Nasty! Only things I can think of are the Anti-Virus program (which should only affect executables and DLLs) or an O/S patch. You might want to post the problem in the Tech Forum - lots of guys there know more than I do about computers! You might have to do a Restore to go back before you had the problem.
No matter how bad a situation is, you can always make it worse. - Chris Hadfield : An Astronaut's Guide To Life On Earth