Welcome back to the second part of the briefing for "War Plan Orange Three".
I'll start by introducing some newly available units and remembering some veterans.
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| Figure 1 - No. 1 Independent Company (Australian Commandos) |
Figure 1 pertains to the Australian Commandos granted by purchase of the Burma Road Campaign DLC. They are very much a specialist unit and do not perform well on the defense in the sense that they will retreat after slight damage leaving a gap on the line. They do have their uses and I'll take advantage of their demolition capabilities in this mission for two main reasons: they are already bought and paid for and they only take one LandCP to deploy. I did not change their unit name during this mission but after doing my research they will become No. 1 IC (Independent Company). So far that's the only land unit named after an actual historical unit.
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| Figure 2 - Unit datasheets |
Figure 2 depicts almost all the units I will rely on. Philippino Recruits are almost useless which is unfortunate and probably not very accurate. Bunkers turn out to be just speed bumps which is dismaying, I'm used to historical accounts where bunkers are somewhat more daunting.
I will not deploy any aircraft at the start of the mission. I simply do not have the funds to spare. 5th "Hickam" Fighting Sqdn is too heavily damaged and will cost almost full price to deploy. It also has very short legs (8 fuel) which means it would have to land making it very vulnerable to the Japanese.
I will absolutely deploy both of my Anti-Air units. 14th "Punaluu" Bty will lose its organic trucks because I can't spare the additional LandCP. That's 4/25 LandCP, 5/25 total.
I will activate and deploy two Engineers, B and C Coy. A Coy has more experience so it will remain in reserve. 4 LandCP and $60, 9/25 and $60/$450 total.
The whole of the First Battalion will be activated, Sergeant McNeil commanding 1/D Coy. 13 LandCP and $165, 22/25 and $225/$450 total. I will explain later why 1/A Coy will not be deployed at the start of the mission.
Rather than mobilizing the first unit of Second Battalion I will activate B Coy of the U.S. Marine Regiment, the one with lesser experience. There's enough jungle terrain that it may become useful. The last 3 LandCP available are thus committed bringing the total to 25 LandCP and $285/$450.
I disbanded Cav/C Sqdn receiving $19 and reformed it for $95. The net $76 pays for 2'000 XP, brings the total expenditure to $361/$450 and leaves me with $89.
This brings us to Figure 3, the curtain is lifted revealing the magnificence of my plan ;)
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| Figure 3 - Deployment and operational plan |
Please be mindful that most units are depicted twice and some three times: the darker version is at the deployment phase with a name plate adjacent, the bright color version is the final position and there are some temporary positions in a lighter shade. The numbers on the top right corners indicate the turn when the position is taken.
The red lines indicate the final defensive position while the yellow lines depict interim delaying positions.
My goal is to achieve both secondary objectives. That guarantees that both primary objectives are also achieved.
Holding on to San Fernando for five turns seems difficult. There's no obvious defensive terrain other than San Fernando itself and it doesn't look far enough from the enemy. That's where blowing up bridges comes into play and takes care of at least three turns.
I don't think the bridge North of Angeles can be blown at this difficulty level but Angeles itself can be held on to for the first two turns i.e. the Japanese can't use that bridge for the first three turns and the distance should take care of the remaining two turns particularly if we can place a temporary blocking force Northwest of the allied truck.
Demolition work requires the unit conducting it to be on the bridge at the start of the turn. That's a very vulnerable position and it's safer if there's a unit (or units) providing cover. Hence Sergeant McNeil and 1/B Coy's positions. 1/B Coy is also preventing Bunker A2 from being flanked which means it may (will) keep the Japanese busy for two turns rather than advancing towards San Fernando.
Holding on to all four Secondary VPs doesn't look too bad. The two Easternmost locations are farther away and there's plenty of rivers to cross. There's also two bunkers to delay the enemy's advance. Just in case two of the Philippino units will occupy those Town tiles and entrench.
The position North of Guagua is vulnerable to artillery and its only advantage is the river penalty. Spoilers: the Japanese in this area weren't very aggressive until it was too late to be a threat.
The two Western Secondary VPs only require one river crossing. The position just South of Porac is thus the most critical but also the most imposing. Almost all the tiles are Jungle which has the added benefit of being concealing terrain i.e. it requires adjacent Infantry or Reconnaissance to reveal. The Anti-Tank Gun can't be spotted and will give a nasty surprise to Tanks who dare to attack. The weak point is the position of Cav/C Sqdn which can be flanked but hopefully it will hold long enough. All of the units should have enough time to fully entrench before the Japanese arrive and that should help (how that mechanic actually works is a mystery for me, but I trust that it has some benefit).
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| Figure 4 - Supply |
One final matter and that is supply, as depicted in Figure 4. It won't be a concern during this mission. My core units will take up to 29 supply (5 for Cav/C Sqdn, 21 for the ones deployed in turn "0" and 3 for 1/A Coy while the Australian Commandos don't draw supply) to which we must add 9 for the Philippino Recruits and 2 for the Anti-Tank Gun. Spoilers, there will be reinforcements entering in turn 10 that will draw 8 pts more. That's 48 points total and the initial Blue units take up 8 points (these will fluctuate as units enter and leave). The Primary VPs plus Abucay add up to 50 points. The Secondary VPs add 60 points and Guagua another 15. Yes, there will be enough supply throughout the mission.
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Comments on this post are disabled. That's just for ease of management. They will be enabled in the last post for each mission.
