Looking forward to it.


Wheels

me too!

And I also liked the newsreel

bring it on!

January 1, 1943: Fortress Pacific



November-December 1942

This period marks major advances by Allied forces in the Central and South Pacific. On 14NOV42 TFs 51.1 and 51.2 embarked major combat units bound for the islands of Makin and Mili for Operation Anchor. By 22NOV all fighting had ceased and the islands were in Allied hands. Engineering battalions immediately began repairing and expanding the island facilities and both airfields were staffed and in operation by the beginning of December.

In the South Pacific, Allied forces landed on Tassafaronga (the northwestern portion of Guadalcanal) on 23DEC during Operation Tojo. IJN forces were easily displaced to Lunga, but strong forces remain on the island. The campaign for Guadalcanal has just begun, but it shows all signs of being a hard fought campaign that will last throughout 1943.

The IJN response was to pound both islands with CV and CVL TFs after US CVs had vacated the area. Both sides have excellent intel in these regions, and the simply waited until the US CVs departed to escort the transports back to Pearl. They succeeded in harassing the forces at Guadalcanal, but were turned back with heavy losses from the Marshalls. More on that engagement in a moment. The IJN now shows some hesitation in confronting the USN on equal terms. Future CV engagements will have to be manufactured carefully, as the IJN still has all of their CVs in service, as far as intel can determine.

2nd Battle of the Marshalls
2-4 DEC 1942

We got a break in the Marshalls. An IJN CVL TF engaged our forces near Mili just as our CV TF was leaving the AO. Normally, these hit and run tactics are very difficult to counter, as the IJN immediately pulls back to friendly waters after strikin. However, this time the SS Greyback was able to slow the enemy by hitting a CVL with torpedoes during a night attack. The USN CV fleet arrived in time to hammer the IJN forces before they could recover.




Intel believes all 4 CVLs were sunk, one BB was severely damaged, and several escort ships were destroyed in the attacks that followed. Air losses were as high as 50%. We can sustain these losses over the long term, but the effects on morale and pilot experience are serious concerns that need to be addressed.

End of Year Report:

As you can see, we have greatly reduced the number of light CVs in the IJN, but we have yet to begin decimating their CV fleet. Until we are able to significantly reduce IJN airpower, large scale operations behind IJN lines are on hold. Air superiority must be established and unquestioned over invasion targets before CenPac will release the ground assets for Operation Yuletide (Guam, Saipan, Tinian).

Air losses have been significant for both sides. HQ will not be pleased until we have reached a 1.5-2 kill ratio. The expected arrival of the F6F Hellcat and F4 Corsair this year bring hope that we will start to achieve that ratio in this Spring.

Hopefully you will be able to engage their CV fleet and deal them a major blow soon.


Wheels

What are the conditions for a japanese surrender? Home isles invasion? Nukefest? Loss of everything but the home isles?

Its based on points, the ones you see in the Intelligence brief screenshot. I believe I must have 3x their points to win outright in '44 and twice their points for auto-win in '45. Otherwise the game ends in mid '46 with victory conditions determined by point score. I'm 3k points behind them in early '43, so I have quite a ways to go.

Side note:

The IJN in this scenario have seemingly endless numbers of CVLs and what appears to be twice the historical numbers of CVs. I am barely keeping up with aircraft losses and I am finally starting to see some attrition for their aircraft losses (CVs with understrength squadrons). It seems they have two Kido Butais, which makes a move into the Marianas VERY iffy until I start getting a few Essex hulls to bolster my carrier strength. I don't go anywhere without at least 3-4 CVs in support and right now I have only 5 with the Wasp really being a light carrier. Tough scenario!

I see. Thanks.

Update next week guys, been awfully slow, just watching seagulls as I try and force their Kido Butais into an engagement. Some small scraps, but nothing major.

88 days till the first Essex class CV shows up! It'll have that new carrier smell!

Ok, I need some advice from my fellow Armchair Generals and Admirals. I'm not sure what my next moves should be! The IJN is still alive and well, but not heard from in a few months. The major theaters are above, here is a list of pros and cons:

Marshalls

Pros
Land forces and naval assets already allocated
Brings us closer to Truk, and cutting off the IJN supply route to Rabaul
Provides a smaller refuel base and moderate size port for naval units

Cons
Tons of little islands to garrison
Islands are very small, assaulting them will be costly
Again, islands are small. Maintaining a large garrison will require a significant supply train
Gains us almost nothing in Victory Points


South Pacific

Bit of a different case. Action WILL be taken in the South Pacific, question is where. Skip Munda and go farther north? Is Milne Bay even necessary at this point (since IJN units no longer dare come within range of Port Moresby). Guadalcanal is a major drain on my resources with the Marines and Army bogged down at Lunga. Jungle fighting will be rough! Where to make the initial landings?


Central Pacific

Guam, Saipan, and Tinian are the major goals. With these in hand, the South Pacific is essentially cut off and the Philippines are in reach. Do I go for broke with a multi-island assault? Try for Pagan (most lightly defended, says Intel) and maybe one other? I'm hesitant to get bogged down, since the IJN still has significant numbers of CVs.

What says my brethren?

Personally, you can't think about Saipan, Tinian or Guam until you take care of the Marshalls. The Japanese can and will snipe at anything attempting to reinforce those three islands, if you don't take out the Marshall Islands.