Course of action suggestions needed!

[VukyTzar]

Hello all, im in 21st of feburay in '42 (against AI) and I have sunk both lexington and saratoga few turns ago north of palmyra island. Now I have 800Av in port moresby and Allies have less than 200AV and they had lost huge amount of troops when I raided their convoys heading to PM (Allies combined lost around 13k men). Situation in coral sea is pretty clear and now I am thinking of invaiding midway and johnston island (PH maybe?). I have troops ready at kwalajalein island (6 naval gurads plus some support units and one division and few armored battalions for support at rabaul). What is best course for invading those, what to expect and should I ignore alleutians (which I plan to)?

[VukyTzar]

Also Ive forget to add that I lost none of my carriers and CV junyo and CVL Shoho have arrived and are ready for action, my KB is currently at Truk resupplying and repairing minor damage. MKB is at Singers and will support attack on Java in next few days

[BBfanboy]

You seem to be asking for a strategic plan (short term). If someone gives a detailed plan to you they, in effect, take over your game and you just run the tactical moves to carry out the plan. Is that your intention?

I can tell you that the AI is unlikely to ever launch attacks on Japan from the Aleutians so you are probably right to ignore them.

As for taking isolated islands, what do you need them for? Extending naval search? A forward base for refuelling/replenishing subs? or SCTFs? or Carriers?

So if you had Midway or Johnston Island, is it suitable for those purposes and what would you do with the capability it provides - raid the WC USA? raid supply lanes coming out of SFO or LA? Move on Hawaii?

One of your strategic calculations should be enemy capability. Right now they only have CVs Yorktown and Enterprise and one British CV. CV Hornet arrives in mid-March. Do you need to hunt down and destroy the remaining Carriers before you launch invasions of remote islands?

The one thing that never changes is that the Japanese have to seize their opportunities early before the Allied side gets organized and gets reinforcements placed. And the AI will continually send under-protected troop convoys to places it wants to keep (their target list) so you can just smash all those convoys and leave the Allies with too few troops to defend anything. Is that the kind of game you want?

I am not trying to be critical here, just pointing out that, once you learn the mechanics of the game you must learn to make longer range plans to get the best experience you can from it.

[VukyTzar]

Well there was already raid from aleutians... 1CL and few destroyers raided my convoy near ominato sinking 2 smaller TK's... As a newb Im trying to find best possible solutions and strategies in crippling US. My thought was to cut off supply to OZ and to use Johnston and midway as resupply bases for my carriers as I want to move frontline as far as I can fron south east Asia. Eventually Im thinking to turn those bases in costly points of attack for US because they cant do much If Japan has them.

If someone gives me a detailed plan I would appreciate it and gave it a thought, I do consider your veteran advices more valuable than my newbish plans. Although I wouldnt give up total control and folow those blindly (what kind of admiral would I be then?)

Im simply trying to get grasp what would vets do in my place, consider it like intel for future PBEM's. I got game mehanics and how stuff works but I want to study possible strategies early, mid and late game. This is why Im asking for advice because I dont want to copy from AARs, i want to find solutions for myself

[BBfanboy]

You are the person best able to assess your capability and how much risk you are willing to take. So you must ask if you feel comfortable assaulting those islands with the forces you have. You seem to have some idea of how you would use them, so the questions turn to how you take them, hold them and build them up.

The raid on the Kuriles does not necessarily require that you extend your invasions into the Aleutians. You can secure the Kuriles with some search aircraft and dive bombers/torpedo bombers. Later on there may be submarine raids but if you escort your convoys the losses should be tolerable, plus you can send a raiding force to the Aleutians to find any AS/AE/AKE support and sink it. Few bases there can be built large enough to reload sub torpedoes without a support ship.
OTOH, if you invade the Aleutians then you are the one sticking your neck out to resupply the troops.

As for your comment about expanding your perimeter as far as possible, you can get away with that in a game against the AI but in a more realistic game the expansion dilutes your defence too much and makes all of the perimeter vulnerable. Better to limit the size of the perimeter and have enough troops, aircraft and ships to make it hard for the Allies to attack anywhere.

[pontiouspilot]

I don't think it ever hurts to grab Attu or Adak with a view extending your eyes. It will also distract a human opponent...likely nothing vis-à-vis AI. Recon the place in advance and only use what bare minimum is required. Once you have it I would only base some search assets, an AS, a small AO and a few subs. It does make a much closer
sub base.

Since you are playing aI you can likely suck the remaining CVs into a battle...maybe over Midway, maybe over Johnson or Canton Is.

[PaxMondo]

Adak is a key base ... most players contest it hotly. After that, depends upon your objectives.

[VukyTzar]

Thanks for your info, I opted out for small invasion foce for adak and attu. I bought few regiments from korea and manchuria, I'll make adak sub base and I have assigned 1 AS and small AO as recommended. My subs are moving to johnston and midway and will recon the vicinity. Midway will be first and primary target and if all goes well johnston will be secondary target. I do have forces in coral sea, so Im thinking To take noumea. That may overstreach my supply lines but it will give me abillity to block Oz eastern coast.
Most of all Im hoping to lure enemy CVs and cripple US for good.

I have another one; Im hauling fuel from palembag with 180k capacity convoy but it seems that I cant keep up with amount produced. Palembag is intact and what would be optimal amount of fuel/oil to be hauled to HI per trip?

[PaxMondo]

Ne znam, bi tako zelis.

Most players would use mid-size tankers and haul to Singers. Then from singers either set up the 'magic highway' or use large, well protected TF's to haul to the HI.

[VukyTzar]

Thanx mondo, nice try on Croatian[:'(]but I have to dissapoint you because it makes little sense. I aprecciate it though [:D][:D]

[amon15]

Ooooo, pa ima Hrvata tu?
(There are Croatians here )

[VukyTzar]

Nađe se tu i tamo koji [8|][8|][:D]

[PaxMondo]

yako dugo da sam radio u Sisku. Ovako. Sam zelio recite da radis kako zelis ...

[BBfanboy]

ORIGINAL: PaxMondo

yako dugo da sam radio u Sisku. Ovako. Sam zelio recite da radis kako zelis ...

OH YAH!? Well, the same to you, bub! [:D]

[VukyTzar]

This community always finds a way to suprise me... Pax pozdrav iz Zadra

[PaxMondo]

ORIGINAL: VukyTzar

Pax pozdrav iz Zadra

hvalaljepo!

Pozdravjia iz Arizona!

[amon15]

Its always nice to find to find fellow countrymen who are interested in history and the pacific theater, and also this game... It's truly a rarity in the balkans, to find someone who knows at least something about the pacific theater in ww2, most of people and historians are focused on the european theatre

[VukyTzar]

Amon15 we have one historian Boris Prikil I think and he wrote three books in croatian about war in pacific (boris prikril-rat na pacifiku). Books are available on english too and are amaizing, you should give it a look