Holding the Lombok Strait | Singleplayer Campaign BS Midway Guide

Last update: 11 May 2016

Units at your disposal: airfield, shipyard, Fletcher-class destroyer (USS "John D. Ford"), fighters P-40 "Warhawk", dive bombers SBD "Dauntless", torpedo bombers TBF "Avenger", level bombers B-25 "Mitchell", recon planes PBY "Catalina", patrol boats of type Elco Enemy: fighters A6M "Zero", bombers D3A "Val" and G3M "Nell", light cruiser, 3 destroyers, 2 cargo ships, oil tanker, landing ships and boats Level of difficulty: 3 (4 with hidden objectives)

Primary objectives:

• Protect the airfield (1)
• USS "John D. Ford" must survive (2)
• Prevent the invasion force from capturing the island (3)

Secondary objectives:

• Shoot down the Japanese medium bombers (1)
• Launch a preemptive strike at the enemy invasion force (2)

Hidden objectives:

• 50% of your air forces must survive (1)
• Sink the landing support ship (LST) (2)
• Don't allow any of the bunkers to be captured by the enemy (3)

New scenario and new challenges. This time you have under your command an American military base on Bali island. The base consists of an airfield and the shipyard. You must protect the airfield (1) against expected Japanese invasion, as a matter of fact - against the enemy bombers first: they will come (in few waves) in a moment from south-west. Along the shore there are placed some bunkers (3) that Japanese invasion forces are going to capture probably. I wrote "probably" because in my game they have never managed to get so far, they never landed on the island. [#1] However, for the present the biggest danger for you represent enemy oncoming bombers. So immediately after starting the game switch to the airfield (it's best to do this by cycling through available units and installations with the Tab key or by left clicking the airfield in map view), open the management menu (Shift key) and launch maximum number of fighters you are able to send at the moment (one flight - 3 fighterplanes - should already take-off without your interference). You should throw to the action all 4 units. Though, don't order them to take bombs yet. [#2]

[ 1]

[ 2]

Now enter to the shipyard and - in a similar way - order two recon planes PBY "Catalina" to take-off, arm both with torpedos or bombs (each of them should have two). [#3] Send your fighters in south-west direction to intercept enemy oncoming bombers: by default your aircrafts have turned on free fire and CAP features (functions) so you don't even have to assign concrete targets for them. However, I was always focusing my attention on the enemy bombers first (to let none of them reach the airfield in one piece), then I was dealing with "Zero" fighters from their escort. Or majority of my planes was attacking the bombers while rest was fighting with "Zeros". Send these two Catalina recon planes east/south-east with a task of patrolling the area over the ocean there (turn on free fire and CAP options for both planes). They will look for enemy invasion (landing) forces incoming from that direction: these Japanese appear on map entering it from east or south-east (once they have also entered from north-east during my gameplay). Your recon planes don't need fighters escort cause they shouldn't meet enemy planes. Meanwhile the USS "John D. Ford" (the destroyer you also have under your control) can patrol the entrance to the harbor's bay or - initially it could be better solution - position him sideways near the shore and the shipyard & airfield to let him fire (using his AA guns) at enemy planes if they have managed to get over the airfield. Don't assign any dangerous tasks to him because you have only one destroyer and additionally the USS "John D. Ford" must survive (2), in order to successfully finish this mission. [#4]

[3]

[4]

Shoot down enemy planes using your "Warhawk" fighters, systematically monitor and replenish your losses by switching to the airfield and launching next planes - you should always have in the air max. number of "Warhawks". Send all the Japanese medium bombers to the ground (1) - I don't remember exactly how many waves you'll have to face to but you'll see approximately 5 groups of planes (several aircrafts in each) approaching in short time intervals. [#5] And if after the battle comes to light that 50 % of your own air forces survived it you'll complete one of hidden objectives. Although you will use your aircrafts in this scenario yet. After destroying all waves of enemy planes, the Japanese landing forces will appear on the sea east of the island - light cruiser at the head of the convoy, two destroyers, same number of landing support ships (LST) & cargo ships and an oil tanker. [#6]

[5]

[6]

But you should already have two "Catalina" recon planes flying over them, as you remember. Now, make a good use of both of these planes: switch to them and attack the Japanese convoy. I striked at the cruiser, damaging him heavily, but you can also try to sink at once these two destroyers - at last your Catalinas have two torpedos (bombs) each: just enough to send both destroyers to the bottom. [#7] Also land with all your fighterplanes on the airfield right away and immediately, when you have such an opportunity, take-off with two B-25 bombers armed with bombs. Order them to bombard enemy cruiser at the head of a convoy, destroying him finally. [#8] Then they can return to the airfield ("land" command in their orders menu activated with Alt key).

[7]

[8]

If both enemy destroyers still escort the Japanese convoy heading towards the island, meet them suitably by sending towards them two Elco-class PT boats launched from the shipyard. Every PT boat should attack each enemy destroyer from one side, sailing to him at full speed and firing at him two torpedos. [#9] Of course you can attack enemy landing forces with your other units, i.e. dive and torpedo bombers, even with your fighters armed with bombs this time. Remember that you can sink these big Japanese cargo ships even strafing their decks with machineguns. [#10]

[9]

[10]

Generally - organize a preemptive strike at the enemy invasion force (2), prevent the invasion force from capturing the island/landing on the shore (3) and don't allow any of the bunkers to be captured by the enemy (3). Now you can also place your destroyer in the entrance of a harbor's bay, sideways to the incoming enemy, and let him wait for the enemy calmly. Using the binoculars, zoom and AA guns/artillery knock out from a max. possible range Japanese landing boats fully loaded with soldiers and rushing to the shore. Destroy also both landing support ships (2) and then take care of these big cargo ships - they're launching small boats, as you remember. [#11] You shouldn't have bigger problems with sending the whole Japanese landing force to the bottom of the ocean. [#12]

[11]

[12]