Talk:AFOH/@comment-5846899-20150822032249/@comment-14850713-20150824100722

OOC: It would take a miracle in logistics and organization for Millennium forces in the north to cross the Owen Stanley Range that quickly and besiege Port Moresby, specially since the front was still in Madang. But let's assume that they pulled it off...

IC:

Northern Front:

Constant air strikes by Vautours, Diables (done while engaging Adlers in sweeping dogfights) and Griffons, and the mobile light infantry tactics of AFOH ground forces have inflicted heavy casualties on Millennium troops, but still they roll forward. The enemy thrust to the southeast across the Owen Stanley Range reaches the northwest edge of Port Moresby, threatening the left flank of the divisions holding Madang. SOUTHCOM orders another retreat, this time all the way to Wau. To defend the major port city of Lae and prevent Millennium forces from crossing to New Britain, the 2 brigades of the 11th LID are detached to hold the Huon Penninsula at all cost. With the heavy naval units of Force E now massed in the Vitiaz and Dampier Straits, they can be easily reinforced from New Britain or withdrawn to it if the situation worsens.

To take advantage of the several ‘’Shadow of Intent’’ and ‘’Resurrection’’ escorts either sunk or crippled by the submarine attack, and to cover the retreating destroyer force (which suffered 8 vessels sunk: 3 ‘’Suffren’’, 4 ‘’Turmensius’’ and 1 ‘’Forbin’’), a flight of ‘’Cobra’’s escorted by ‘’Durandal’’s and Diables screams in from the north of the Millennium fleet. Their targets are the heavy Millennium units. Aerial mines, proven effective against aerospace ships and deadly against surface craft, hit the ‘’Conqueror’’s, ‘’Fuhrer’’s and ‘’Das Rache’’s. Launched by an ‘’Oraborus’’-led submarine deterrence force, the strike takes the enemy fleet by surprise, despite the AA umbrella and the Adler CAPs recovering from their initial confusion. Most of targets are put out of action (some eventually sinking), temporarily halting the fire-support for the land advance.

Meanwhile, to guard against the Millennium ‘’Inquisition’’s,, the   4th Aerospace Fleet warps over the Solomon Sea, with 6 ‘’Mirage’’ battlecruisers, 3 ‘’Venator’’ carriers, 12 ‘’Viper’’ cruisers, 24 ‘’Venom’’ destroyers and 60 ‘’Paladin’’ heavy attack craft, with an air arm of 240 ‘’Cobra’’s, 60 ‘’Durandal’’s and 360 Diables.

Southern Front:

The redeploying 3rd Brigade of the 106th LID, on its way to reinforce Wau, is ordered to attack the Millennium northern force besieging Port Moresby. Employing strict camouflage discipline and advancing rapidly in the mountainous terrain (by leaving most of its heavy artillery behind), it takes the enemy’s left flank and sends it retreating several kilometers to regroup. Despite the risk, a single ‘’Pascal’’ aerospace transport airlifts the 2nd Brigade of the 83rd LID (the XIX Corps reserve based in Oceania) to join the 106th in Port Moresby, allowing it to push 3rd Brigade all the way to Wau. This tenuous Port Moresby -Wau Line finally unites the AFOH ground forces in Papua New Guinea. Seeing how the Island of New Guinea resembles a plucked buzzard on a map, the soldiers start referring to the defensive perimeter as the “Buzzard’s Tail”.

<p style="line-height: 13.15pt;"><span lang="EN" style="color: white; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-themecolor: background1; mso-ansi-language: EN;">With Force E concentrating in the north, the advance elements of H Force enter the Coral Sea to forestall any move by Millennium. These are composed of 3 super-warships (1 ‘’Redoutable’’, 2 ‘’Reaper’’),   2 ‘’Colbert’’ attack carriers, 2 ‘’Guichen’’   aviation battlecruisers, 8 heavy battleships (3 ‘’Sedition’’, 3 ‘’Fury’’, 2 ‘’Indomptable’’), 8 battlecruisers (3 ‘’Gacogne’’, 3 ‘’Foch’’, 2 ‘’Gambetta’’), 2 ‘’La Motte-Picquet’’ air-defense and 16 heavy cruisers (6 ‘’Napoleon’’, 6 ‘’Slayer’’ 4 ‘’Tourville’’), 24 destroyers (12 ‘’Suffren’’, 6 ‘’Turmensius’’, 6 ‘’Forbin’’),   24 ‘’Shadow Hawk’’ attack submarines, with an air arm of 84 Vautours   and 276 Diables. fighters