2 Feb 43
Dutch sub O20 hit APD Yuzuki with a torpedo at Car Nicobar. The APD was picking up the unit fragment that had taken the Allied dot base. Not long after, O20 attacked again and hit Yuzuki with 3 more torpedoes, easily sinking the ship. The fragment was lost, a few squads.
I-22 was heavily damaged on the Oregon coast. I doubted that it would make it to safety. It had steadily moved towards the Aleutians, with SYS damage slowly ticking upwards and FLOT damage slowly ticking downward. I ordered it to Ulak Island, a size 1 port. Adak Island was a little closer, and is a size 2 port, but it gets constant enemy attention and recon. A sub stuck there wouldn't last long. Now I-22 suffered pump failures and the FLOT damage went up 24 to 73, with the SYS damage up 1 to 67. But it made it to Ulak Island. It is now in Pier mode and may or may not be saved. An AS stationed near Attu Island may go to Ulak to help save the sub, depending on how things progress overnight.
OPilot has added Roi Namur to the recon list of targets in the Marshalls. Double heavy SigInt at Columbo, which is unusual. Things have to be stirring soon, don't they?
Deja Vu All Over Again - apbarog(J) vs OPilot(A)
Moderators: wdolson, MOD_War-in-the-Pacific-Admirals-Edition
Re: Deja Vu All Over Again - apbarog(J) vs OPilot(A)
3 Feb 43
I tried a different air strategy in Burma. Instead of trying to guess which target OPilot would hit and using LRCAP to cover the possible target, I switched to using ranged CAP out of Toungoo and Lashio. He hit Magwe, and some of my Tojos, Nicks and Tonys intercepted. I had about 30 planes up at the start. They intercepted 14 Hurricanes, then 14 Hurricanes, then 14 Hurricanes, then 6 Hurricanes, then 2 Hurricanes. When 38 B-24Ds showed up next, there were only 2 Tojos, 5 Nicks and 1 Tony still flying. A few bombers were damaged. 35 B-25Cs were next and went up against 2 Nicks. Not being heavy bombers, the Nicks did shoot down 2 Mitchells. 12 more B-25Cs came in, up against 1 Nick which did nothing. Now all of the Japanese fighters were not flying, and 8 more B-24D, 12 B-25Cs, and 2 more groups of 14 Hurricanes arrived. The airfield, already very damaged, was hit fairly hard again. OPilot did not go after oil this time.
22 P-38Gs from Norfolk Island swept La Foa at 34000 feet. 19 A6M2 Zeros were on CAP and it was a turkey shoot for the US fighters. 12 Zeros were shot down, with no losses to the P-38s. Zeros pilots were good but not elite. Other Zeros were at Koumac but set to 100 feet naval strike to go after whatever ships were at Noumea yesterday. But they had left.
I'd guessed right at Gove, but probably made a mistake sending 35 Nicks there. 37 B-24Ds arrived, and no P-38s. 2 B-24Ds were shot down. Many were damaged, but there were no B-24 ops losses. The base had been moderately damaged. Now it is heavily damaged. And I forgot that there are only 8 air support squads there. Now I have 5 working Nicks and 34 damaged ones at Gove. I flew the 5 back to Buna, but the damaged ones will repair very slowly, and that assumes no more Allied bombing, which I can guarantee is not a good assumption.
So, all in all, about a best case scenario for the Japanese, with acceptable results in Burma, and a surprise situation at Gove. But the results were not very good, really. Total air losses between Burma and Gove were 5 Tonys, 5 Nicks and 1 Tojo while downing 2 B-25Cs, 2 B-24Ds and 4 Hurricanes. Again, I lost 12 Zeros at La Foa.
I-22 repaired a point of FLOT damage at Ulak, so there is hope for it. An AS will get there in 2 days, if it avoids subs.
I moved Bettys trained in ASW to Roi Namur, and they lit up US subs in every direction. Many US subs in the Marshalls, which is interesting, because they aren't around Truk or Rabaul, for the most part. It may be that my previous air ASW efforts drove them off from there. We'll see if the US subs move away from Roi Namur and Kwajalein now that they have been sighted.
I tried a different air strategy in Burma. Instead of trying to guess which target OPilot would hit and using LRCAP to cover the possible target, I switched to using ranged CAP out of Toungoo and Lashio. He hit Magwe, and some of my Tojos, Nicks and Tonys intercepted. I had about 30 planes up at the start. They intercepted 14 Hurricanes, then 14 Hurricanes, then 14 Hurricanes, then 6 Hurricanes, then 2 Hurricanes. When 38 B-24Ds showed up next, there were only 2 Tojos, 5 Nicks and 1 Tony still flying. A few bombers were damaged. 35 B-25Cs were next and went up against 2 Nicks. Not being heavy bombers, the Nicks did shoot down 2 Mitchells. 12 more B-25Cs came in, up against 1 Nick which did nothing. Now all of the Japanese fighters were not flying, and 8 more B-24D, 12 B-25Cs, and 2 more groups of 14 Hurricanes arrived. The airfield, already very damaged, was hit fairly hard again. OPilot did not go after oil this time.
22 P-38Gs from Norfolk Island swept La Foa at 34000 feet. 19 A6M2 Zeros were on CAP and it was a turkey shoot for the US fighters. 12 Zeros were shot down, with no losses to the P-38s. Zeros pilots were good but not elite. Other Zeros were at Koumac but set to 100 feet naval strike to go after whatever ships were at Noumea yesterday. But they had left.
I'd guessed right at Gove, but probably made a mistake sending 35 Nicks there. 37 B-24Ds arrived, and no P-38s. 2 B-24Ds were shot down. Many were damaged, but there were no B-24 ops losses. The base had been moderately damaged. Now it is heavily damaged. And I forgot that there are only 8 air support squads there. Now I have 5 working Nicks and 34 damaged ones at Gove. I flew the 5 back to Buna, but the damaged ones will repair very slowly, and that assumes no more Allied bombing, which I can guarantee is not a good assumption.
So, all in all, about a best case scenario for the Japanese, with acceptable results in Burma, and a surprise situation at Gove. But the results were not very good, really. Total air losses between Burma and Gove were 5 Tonys, 5 Nicks and 1 Tojo while downing 2 B-25Cs, 2 B-24Ds and 4 Hurricanes. Again, I lost 12 Zeros at La Foa.
I-22 repaired a point of FLOT damage at Ulak, so there is hope for it. An AS will get there in 2 days, if it avoids subs.
I moved Bettys trained in ASW to Roi Namur, and they lit up US subs in every direction. Many US subs in the Marshalls, which is interesting, because they aren't around Truk or Rabaul, for the most part. It may be that my previous air ASW efforts drove them off from there. We'll see if the US subs move away from Roi Namur and Kwajalein now that they have been sighted.
Re: Deja Vu All Over Again - apbarog(J) vs OPilot(A)
4 Feb 43
The Dutch light cruiser TF reappeared at Exmouth for a bombardment. I-153 fired 6 torpedoes at DD Tjerk Hiddes but all missed. Van Galen and Tjerk Hiddes got 3 attacks in on the sub in the shallow water, and got 2 depth charge hits. I-153 is now SYS 54/FLOT 66-36/ENG 7-7/FIRE 0 and will hope to get to Port Hedland for some repairs. The sub already patching up there will now leave for Koepang. This area has gotten dangerous for Japanese subs. The western coast of Australia has many Allied ASW TFs at work. The Dutch force did bombard and caused 160 casualties. 4 enemy units moved into Exmouth. Previously, an Australian armor unit almost took the base. It has now been reinforced and the outcome is given. I've been flying out the small air support unit to Port Hedland, and the few float planes at Exmouth have moved out.
Repeat performance at Magwe. All of the British Hurricanes and many medium and heavy bombers arrived, up against the same ranged CAP of Japanese fighters. Poorer results for us this time. 7 Nicks, 5 Tonys and 2 Tojos lost, while downing just 3 Hurricanes. 2 Liberators were downed, 1 to flak, and 1 B-25C was an ops loss. Enough for that experiment. The heavies did go back to bombing the remaining oil. Some were destroyed.
B-17s hit Gove, Daly Waters and Katherine. P-38s swept Port Moresby but found no CAP. P-38s swept Koumac and also found no CAP.
The Dutch light cruiser TF reappeared at Exmouth for a bombardment. I-153 fired 6 torpedoes at DD Tjerk Hiddes but all missed. Van Galen and Tjerk Hiddes got 3 attacks in on the sub in the shallow water, and got 2 depth charge hits. I-153 is now SYS 54/FLOT 66-36/ENG 7-7/FIRE 0 and will hope to get to Port Hedland for some repairs. The sub already patching up there will now leave for Koepang. This area has gotten dangerous for Japanese subs. The western coast of Australia has many Allied ASW TFs at work. The Dutch force did bombard and caused 160 casualties. 4 enemy units moved into Exmouth. Previously, an Australian armor unit almost took the base. It has now been reinforced and the outcome is given. I've been flying out the small air support unit to Port Hedland, and the few float planes at Exmouth have moved out.
Repeat performance at Magwe. All of the British Hurricanes and many medium and heavy bombers arrived, up against the same ranged CAP of Japanese fighters. Poorer results for us this time. 7 Nicks, 5 Tonys and 2 Tojos lost, while downing just 3 Hurricanes. 2 Liberators were downed, 1 to flak, and 1 B-25C was an ops loss. Enough for that experiment. The heavies did go back to bombing the remaining oil. Some were destroyed.
B-17s hit Gove, Daly Waters and Katherine. P-38s swept Port Moresby but found no CAP. P-38s swept Koumac and also found no CAP.
Re: Deja Vu All Over Again - apbarog(J) vs OPilot(A)
5 Feb 43
I-153 was badly damaged at Exmouth yesterday or the day before. It was moving to Port Hedland, not using the coast. But KXII spotted it and sank it with a torpedo.
Mixed nation TF bombarded Gove, destroying 4 Nicks on the ground. I'll keep trying to repair the Nicks and fly them out, but that isn't happening so far.
AG Unkai Maru #1 was moving from Rabaul to Oro Bay, moving to support sub chasers on the New Guinea coast. Sealion hit the small AG with a torpedo, sinking the ship. Another AG at Rabaul is ordered to take its place.
OPilot switched to a shotgun approach to sweeps and bombing in Burma. It worked in one respect: many bases hit, and Thai units hit also. It didn't work at Taung Gyi, where approximately 12 Liberator IIs hit the airfield, but found 23 Nicks on CAP. 12 Liberator IIs were shot down. A great showing against heavy bombers. I don't know the specs on the Liberator IIs, but they don't seem to have the defenses of the US B-24s.
East of Adak Island, 4 Sallys tried to hit a US cruiser TF, bombing at 1000 feet. 10 P-40s were protecting, but flying at 15000 and 29000 feet, and only had 9 minutes to react. They didn't get to the bombers. All bombs missed though, dropped at 1000 feet. The bomber pilots are trained to about 60 in low level bombing. One Sally was shot down by flak.
Exmouth was lost. A fragment of the small 13th JAAF AF Coy had been flown out to Port Hedland. I am going to have to deal with the Australian tanks along the north coast, I'm afraid.
Ground combat at Exmouth (50,129)
Allied Shock attack
Attacking force 4560 troops, 0 guns, 299 vehicles, Assault Value = 192
Defending force 1669 troops, 15 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 47
Allied adjusted assault: 102
Japanese adjusted defense: 4
Allied assault odds: 25 to 1 (fort level 0)
Allied forces CAPTURE Exmouth !!!
Combat modifiers
Defender: disruption(-), experience(-)
Attacker: shock(+)
Japanese ground losses:
1114 casualties reported
Squads: 55 destroyed, 5 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 16 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 11 (5 destroyed, 6 disabled)
Allied ground losses:
153 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 2 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 13 disabled
Engineers: 2 destroyed, 2 disabled
Assaulting units:
3rd Tank Battalion
2nd Tank Battalion
2/7th Armoured Regiment
13th Armoured Regiment
Defending units:
48th Naval Guard Unit
13th JAAF AF Coy
I-153 was badly damaged at Exmouth yesterday or the day before. It was moving to Port Hedland, not using the coast. But KXII spotted it and sank it with a torpedo.
Mixed nation TF bombarded Gove, destroying 4 Nicks on the ground. I'll keep trying to repair the Nicks and fly them out, but that isn't happening so far.
AG Unkai Maru #1 was moving from Rabaul to Oro Bay, moving to support sub chasers on the New Guinea coast. Sealion hit the small AG with a torpedo, sinking the ship. Another AG at Rabaul is ordered to take its place.
OPilot switched to a shotgun approach to sweeps and bombing in Burma. It worked in one respect: many bases hit, and Thai units hit also. It didn't work at Taung Gyi, where approximately 12 Liberator IIs hit the airfield, but found 23 Nicks on CAP. 12 Liberator IIs were shot down. A great showing against heavy bombers. I don't know the specs on the Liberator IIs, but they don't seem to have the defenses of the US B-24s.
East of Adak Island, 4 Sallys tried to hit a US cruiser TF, bombing at 1000 feet. 10 P-40s were protecting, but flying at 15000 and 29000 feet, and only had 9 minutes to react. They didn't get to the bombers. All bombs missed though, dropped at 1000 feet. The bomber pilots are trained to about 60 in low level bombing. One Sally was shot down by flak.
Exmouth was lost. A fragment of the small 13th JAAF AF Coy had been flown out to Port Hedland. I am going to have to deal with the Australian tanks along the north coast, I'm afraid.
Ground combat at Exmouth (50,129)
Allied Shock attack
Attacking force 4560 troops, 0 guns, 299 vehicles, Assault Value = 192
Defending force 1669 troops, 15 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 47
Allied adjusted assault: 102
Japanese adjusted defense: 4
Allied assault odds: 25 to 1 (fort level 0)
Allied forces CAPTURE Exmouth !!!
Combat modifiers
Defender: disruption(-), experience(-)
Attacker: shock(+)
Japanese ground losses:
1114 casualties reported
Squads: 55 destroyed, 5 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 16 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 11 (5 destroyed, 6 disabled)
Allied ground losses:
153 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 2 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 13 disabled
Engineers: 2 destroyed, 2 disabled
Assaulting units:
3rd Tank Battalion
2nd Tank Battalion
2/7th Armoured Regiment
13th Armoured Regiment
Defending units:
48th Naval Guard Unit
13th JAAF AF Coy
Re: Deja Vu All Over Again - apbarog(J) vs OPilot(A)
6 Feb 43 - Aleutians
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5 Feb 43 - Burma and Western China
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5 Feb 43 - China
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5 Feb 43 - Darwin and New Guinea
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5 Feb 43 - Far Northern China
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5 Feb 43 - Gilberts
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5 Feb 43 - Java
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5 Feb 43 - New Caledonia
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5 Feb 43 - NW Australia
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Re: Deja Vu All Over Again - apbarog(J) vs OPilot(A)
6 Feb 43
North of Ulithi, Sunfish hit xAK Seisyo Maru with a torpedo. The ship separated from the task force, and Sunfish immediately reattacked. 2 more torpedo hits sank the ship. No duds. The task force is bringing supply to Babeldaob.
Allied ships are clearing mines at Exmouth. A Japanese destroyer task force, spotted to the northeast, will bombard Exmouth tonight.
Interesting day at Gove. Gove got the heavy bombing treatment again, but the treatment has changed. Instead of P-38 sweeps and heavy bombers and medium bombers, only B-25s are bombing now. And lots of them. 89 of them estimated from the combat report. I have mini-KB lurking to the northeast, hoping to catch enemy ships around Gove. Instead, they are ordered to the hex northwest of Gove, and fighters are set to range 1 CAP. Bombers have a secondary mission of bombing the airfield at Groote Eylandt. Zeros from Darwin will sweep. Lilys from Darwin will bomb. Last time I went to Groote Eylandt, there were Spitfires there and they were tough. Hope to whittle them down with a cruiser bombardment overnight, then hit them with air strikes during the day. There are lots of Allied engineers at the base, so everything I do is temporary, but I have to at least contest OPilot's strategy of building huge forward bases and dominating the skies with heavy bombers.
With Exmouth lost, I considered shipping in an infantry and an armor division to Port Hedland. It didn't take long for bombers at Carnavon to start hit troops at Port Hedland. Mitchell IIs bombed the naval guard unit there. Clear terrain and no airbase. Rough situation. Considering reinforcing Port Hedland and retaking Exmouth and taking Carnarvon with tank divisions. I'm concerned that losing northwestern Australia opens up the possibility of a direct landing on or near Java from Perth. OPilot can avoid my preparations around Darwin entirely.
The usual Japanese dilemma. You can't defend everywhere, and most places can be bypassed. The Allies can pick and choose where to go, and the longer they wait to do so, the more overwhelming the move can be.
I-22 is badly damaged at Ulak in the Aleutians. It has been repairing 1 point of FLOT minor damage each day, with the FLOT damage being 70-24 yesterday. I moved an AS to Ulak, and instantly the rest of the 46 minor FLOT damage that can be repaired, was repaired. Not everyone knows that an AS helps repairs as well as rearming subs. With the SYS damage high at 67, I'll leave the sub there to bring that down some.
East of Adak, the US cruiser force remained in place. Not sure what is going on there. I'm keeping my cruiser force in place, not seen, 2 hexes west of Adak, patrolling and with a reaction range of 2. Another 150 mines were just dropped at Adak.
North of Ulithi, Sunfish hit xAK Seisyo Maru with a torpedo. The ship separated from the task force, and Sunfish immediately reattacked. 2 more torpedo hits sank the ship. No duds. The task force is bringing supply to Babeldaob.
Allied ships are clearing mines at Exmouth. A Japanese destroyer task force, spotted to the northeast, will bombard Exmouth tonight.
Interesting day at Gove. Gove got the heavy bombing treatment again, but the treatment has changed. Instead of P-38 sweeps and heavy bombers and medium bombers, only B-25s are bombing now. And lots of them. 89 of them estimated from the combat report. I have mini-KB lurking to the northeast, hoping to catch enemy ships around Gove. Instead, they are ordered to the hex northwest of Gove, and fighters are set to range 1 CAP. Bombers have a secondary mission of bombing the airfield at Groote Eylandt. Zeros from Darwin will sweep. Lilys from Darwin will bomb. Last time I went to Groote Eylandt, there were Spitfires there and they were tough. Hope to whittle them down with a cruiser bombardment overnight, then hit them with air strikes during the day. There are lots of Allied engineers at the base, so everything I do is temporary, but I have to at least contest OPilot's strategy of building huge forward bases and dominating the skies with heavy bombers.
With Exmouth lost, I considered shipping in an infantry and an armor division to Port Hedland. It didn't take long for bombers at Carnavon to start hit troops at Port Hedland. Mitchell IIs bombed the naval guard unit there. Clear terrain and no airbase. Rough situation. Considering reinforcing Port Hedland and retaking Exmouth and taking Carnarvon with tank divisions. I'm concerned that losing northwestern Australia opens up the possibility of a direct landing on or near Java from Perth. OPilot can avoid my preparations around Darwin entirely.
The usual Japanese dilemma. You can't defend everywhere, and most places can be bypassed. The Allies can pick and choose where to go, and the longer they wait to do so, the more overwhelming the move can be.
I-22 is badly damaged at Ulak in the Aleutians. It has been repairing 1 point of FLOT minor damage each day, with the FLOT damage being 70-24 yesterday. I moved an AS to Ulak, and instantly the rest of the 46 minor FLOT damage that can be repaired, was repaired. Not everyone knows that an AS helps repairs as well as rearming subs. With the SYS damage high at 67, I'll leave the sub there to bring that down some.
East of Adak, the US cruiser force remained in place. Not sure what is going on there. I'm keeping my cruiser force in place, not seen, 2 hexes west of Adak, patrolling and with a reaction range of 2. Another 150 mines were just dropped at Adak.
Re: Deja Vu All Over Again - apbarog(J) vs OPilot(A)
7 Feb 43
I-162 spotted the Dutch light cruiser task force near Exmouth, but missed CL Sumatra with 4 torpedoes. Destroyers Van Galen and Tjerk Hiddes hit the sub with 2 depth charges. It's become a rough area for subs near Exmouth. I-162 is SYS 26/FLOT 53-32/ENG 8-6/FIRE 0 and will head towards Koepang. A Japanese destroyer task force headed into Exmouth to bombard but was intercepted by the Dutch.
The first fight was inconclusive and the Japanese did a bit better than the Dutch. The Japanese did launch many torpedoes, some against the cruisers, but all missed. More Long Lance disappointment.
Night Time Surface Combat, near Exmouth at 50,129, Range 6,000 Yards
Japanese Ships
DD Asashio, Shell hits 1
DD Natsugumo
DD Yamagumo
DD Umikaze, Shell hits 1
DD Suzukaze
DD Yugure
Allied Ships
CL Java
CL Sumatra
CL Tromp, Shell hits 1
CLAA Van Heemskerck, Shell hits 1
DD Kortenaer
DD Witte de With, Shell hits 1, heavy fires
DD Van Nes
DD Banckert
DD Tjerk Hiddes, Shell hits 1
DD Van Galen
The Japanese aborted the bombardment attempt and headed back towards Koepang. Just outside of Exmouth, the Dutch intercepted again.
Day Time Surface Combat, near Exmouth at 51,128, Range 15,000 Yards
Japanese Ships
DD Asashio
DD Natsugumo
DD Yamagumo, Shell hits 7, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Umikaze
DD Suzukaze
DD Yugure
Allied Ships
CL Java, Shell hits 1
CL Sumatra, Shell hits 1
CL Tromp
CLAA Van Heemskerck
DD Kortenaer
DD Witte de With, Shell hits 1
DD Van Nes
DD Banckert, Shell hits 1
DD Tjerk Hiddes
DD Van Galen, Shell hits 1, on fire
Once Yamagumo was hit, the Dutch focused their fire on that ship. Hits on the Dutch cruisers did not penetrate. Yamagumo is SYS 66/FLOT 20-10/ENG 14-4/FIRE 97. It has very, very little chance of survival, but the ship is making good speed, and is 4 hexes from Port Hedland. We roll the dice and hope to roll box cars many times in a row. With 97 FIRE though, we know what the outcome will be.
Japanese cruiser force bombarded Groote Eylandt.
Night Naval bombardment of Groote Eylandt at 82,130
Allied aircraft
no flights
Allied aircraft losses
Spitfire Vc Trop: 5 damaged
Spitfire Vc Trop: 1 destroyed on ground
Japanese Ships
CA Kako
CA Aoba
CL Yubari
CL Tatsuta
CL Agano
DD Oshio
DD Hagikaze
DD Tokitsukaze
DD Amatsukaze
DD Shiranui
DD Hayashio
Allied ground losses:
173 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 11 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 5 disabled
Guns lost 4 (1 destroyed, 3 disabled)
Airbase hits 3
Airbase supply hits 4
Runway hits 28
Port hits 16
Port supply hits 5
My air strikes on Groote Eylandt went off as planned and in optimal order.
32 A6M3 Zeros swept at 7000 feet. No reason to fly high and still be jumped by Spitfires. So they were jumped by Spitfires lower. Better? Who knows. Many Zeros were shot down, not so many Spits.
21 Lilys attacked and were intercepted by 3 Spits. Lilys downed. Minor damage done in moderate rain. 21 more Lilys against 3 Spits again. Same result.
Allied bombers from Carnarvon flew against the Japanese destroyers near Exmouth. The damaged DD was further east and not attacked. Attacks were at 1000 feet and included 9 B-25Cs and 3 Mitchell IIs. All bombs missed. In the afternoon,9 B-25Cs and 14 Mitchell IIs attacked ato 1000 feet, and all bombs missed.
My trap at Gove was to catch the almost 90 B-25s that hit Gove yesterday by moving mini-KB adjacent and range capping. That didn't happen, although many B-25s did attack my cruiser force at Gove.
6 B-25Cs at 1000 feet, versus 45 carrier Zeros, all bombs missed. Just 1 minute of warning allowed the bombers to escape.
6 B-25Cs at 1000 feet versus 45 carrier Zeros. Most bombers shot down. Bombs missed.
16 A-24s dive bombed versus 40 carrier Zeros. Most if not all bombers shot down. No bombs dropped.
6 B-25Cs at 1000 feet versus 38 carrier Zeros. Most bombers shot down. Bombs missed.
18 B-25Cs at 1000 feet versus 31 carrier Zeros. CAP starting to tire. Many bombers shot down. 10 B-25Cs drop bombs. One bomb hits CL Yubari, but damage is slight. Yubari is SYS 8/FLOT 4-0/ENG 0/FIRE 0.
14 A-24s dive bombed versus 22 carrier Zeros. Most bombers shot down. No bombs dropped.
6 B-25 Cs at 1000 feet versus 17 carrier Zeros. Bombers damaged and aborted strike attempt.
In the afternoon, 6 B-25Cs at 1000 feet versus 13 carrier Zeros. A few bombers downed. All bombs missed.
6 more B-25Cs at 1000 feet versus 6 carrier Zeros. Bombers damaged. All dropped bombs but all missed.
5 more B-25Cs at 1000 feet versus 6 carrier Zeros. Bombers aborted before bombing.
58 Vals and 13 Kates escorted by 34 Zeros hit Groote Eylandt's airbase and sank AM Castlemaine with 3 bombs, finding just 4 Spits on CAP. The Spits were again awesome and downed many Zeros and some Vals.
Total air losses on the day were 37 B-25s (3 to flak), 34 A-24s, 8 Spits (4 on the ground at Gove), 2 Mitchell IIs (1 to flak) at the cost of 22 Zeros, 5 Lilys and 5 Vals.
An added bonus is that my rather mediocre Zero pilots got a nice experience boost, at least the ones that downed a plane. Remember that I stripped all of my elite carrier fighter pilots out of their units and sent them to the reserve, and have worked on training up a new batch of pilots. They now range from mediocre to slightly above average. I still don't think we'll have a big carrier battle for awhile, with the Japanese having the advantage currently, so I'll continue to train up my newer pilots. I'll call on my elite pilots when they are needed. My goal is to preserve them for late-war and see what the Sams can do with Pearl Harbor experienced pilots.
I-162 spotted the Dutch light cruiser task force near Exmouth, but missed CL Sumatra with 4 torpedoes. Destroyers Van Galen and Tjerk Hiddes hit the sub with 2 depth charges. It's become a rough area for subs near Exmouth. I-162 is SYS 26/FLOT 53-32/ENG 8-6/FIRE 0 and will head towards Koepang. A Japanese destroyer task force headed into Exmouth to bombard but was intercepted by the Dutch.
The first fight was inconclusive and the Japanese did a bit better than the Dutch. The Japanese did launch many torpedoes, some against the cruisers, but all missed. More Long Lance disappointment.
Night Time Surface Combat, near Exmouth at 50,129, Range 6,000 Yards
Japanese Ships
DD Asashio, Shell hits 1
DD Natsugumo
DD Yamagumo
DD Umikaze, Shell hits 1
DD Suzukaze
DD Yugure
Allied Ships
CL Java
CL Sumatra
CL Tromp, Shell hits 1
CLAA Van Heemskerck, Shell hits 1
DD Kortenaer
DD Witte de With, Shell hits 1, heavy fires
DD Van Nes
DD Banckert
DD Tjerk Hiddes, Shell hits 1
DD Van Galen
The Japanese aborted the bombardment attempt and headed back towards Koepang. Just outside of Exmouth, the Dutch intercepted again.
Day Time Surface Combat, near Exmouth at 51,128, Range 15,000 Yards
Japanese Ships
DD Asashio
DD Natsugumo
DD Yamagumo, Shell hits 7, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Umikaze
DD Suzukaze
DD Yugure
Allied Ships
CL Java, Shell hits 1
CL Sumatra, Shell hits 1
CL Tromp
CLAA Van Heemskerck
DD Kortenaer
DD Witte de With, Shell hits 1
DD Van Nes
DD Banckert, Shell hits 1
DD Tjerk Hiddes
DD Van Galen, Shell hits 1, on fire
Once Yamagumo was hit, the Dutch focused their fire on that ship. Hits on the Dutch cruisers did not penetrate. Yamagumo is SYS 66/FLOT 20-10/ENG 14-4/FIRE 97. It has very, very little chance of survival, but the ship is making good speed, and is 4 hexes from Port Hedland. We roll the dice and hope to roll box cars many times in a row. With 97 FIRE though, we know what the outcome will be.
Japanese cruiser force bombarded Groote Eylandt.
Night Naval bombardment of Groote Eylandt at 82,130
Allied aircraft
no flights
Allied aircraft losses
Spitfire Vc Trop: 5 damaged
Spitfire Vc Trop: 1 destroyed on ground
Japanese Ships
CA Kako
CA Aoba
CL Yubari
CL Tatsuta
CL Agano
DD Oshio
DD Hagikaze
DD Tokitsukaze
DD Amatsukaze
DD Shiranui
DD Hayashio
Allied ground losses:
173 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 11 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 5 disabled
Guns lost 4 (1 destroyed, 3 disabled)
Airbase hits 3
Airbase supply hits 4
Runway hits 28
Port hits 16
Port supply hits 5
My air strikes on Groote Eylandt went off as planned and in optimal order.
32 A6M3 Zeros swept at 7000 feet. No reason to fly high and still be jumped by Spitfires. So they were jumped by Spitfires lower. Better? Who knows. Many Zeros were shot down, not so many Spits.
21 Lilys attacked and were intercepted by 3 Spits. Lilys downed. Minor damage done in moderate rain. 21 more Lilys against 3 Spits again. Same result.
Allied bombers from Carnarvon flew against the Japanese destroyers near Exmouth. The damaged DD was further east and not attacked. Attacks were at 1000 feet and included 9 B-25Cs and 3 Mitchell IIs. All bombs missed. In the afternoon,9 B-25Cs and 14 Mitchell IIs attacked ato 1000 feet, and all bombs missed.
My trap at Gove was to catch the almost 90 B-25s that hit Gove yesterday by moving mini-KB adjacent and range capping. That didn't happen, although many B-25s did attack my cruiser force at Gove.
6 B-25Cs at 1000 feet, versus 45 carrier Zeros, all bombs missed. Just 1 minute of warning allowed the bombers to escape.
6 B-25Cs at 1000 feet versus 45 carrier Zeros. Most bombers shot down. Bombs missed.
16 A-24s dive bombed versus 40 carrier Zeros. Most if not all bombers shot down. No bombs dropped.
6 B-25Cs at 1000 feet versus 38 carrier Zeros. Most bombers shot down. Bombs missed.
18 B-25Cs at 1000 feet versus 31 carrier Zeros. CAP starting to tire. Many bombers shot down. 10 B-25Cs drop bombs. One bomb hits CL Yubari, but damage is slight. Yubari is SYS 8/FLOT 4-0/ENG 0/FIRE 0.
14 A-24s dive bombed versus 22 carrier Zeros. Most bombers shot down. No bombs dropped.
6 B-25 Cs at 1000 feet versus 17 carrier Zeros. Bombers damaged and aborted strike attempt.
In the afternoon, 6 B-25Cs at 1000 feet versus 13 carrier Zeros. A few bombers downed. All bombs missed.
6 more B-25Cs at 1000 feet versus 6 carrier Zeros. Bombers damaged. All dropped bombs but all missed.
5 more B-25Cs at 1000 feet versus 6 carrier Zeros. Bombers aborted before bombing.
58 Vals and 13 Kates escorted by 34 Zeros hit Groote Eylandt's airbase and sank AM Castlemaine with 3 bombs, finding just 4 Spits on CAP. The Spits were again awesome and downed many Zeros and some Vals.
Total air losses on the day were 37 B-25s (3 to flak), 34 A-24s, 8 Spits (4 on the ground at Gove), 2 Mitchell IIs (1 to flak) at the cost of 22 Zeros, 5 Lilys and 5 Vals.
An added bonus is that my rather mediocre Zero pilots got a nice experience boost, at least the ones that downed a plane. Remember that I stripped all of my elite carrier fighter pilots out of their units and sent them to the reserve, and have worked on training up a new batch of pilots. They now range from mediocre to slightly above average. I still don't think we'll have a big carrier battle for awhile, with the Japanese having the advantage currently, so I'll continue to train up my newer pilots. I'll call on my elite pilots when they are needed. My goal is to preserve them for late-war and see what the Sams can do with Pearl Harbor experienced pilots.
Re: Deja Vu All Over Again - apbarog(J) vs OPilot(A)
8 Feb 43
Silversides hit tanker Urato Maru with a torpedo at Shimushiri-Jima. The tanker was unloading fuel there and burned up. Escorting patrol boat Ikunta Maru hit Silversides with 2 depth charges and damaged torpedo tubes in the shallow water, but Silversides may survive.
Destroyer Yamagumo did burn up. It moved 3 of the 4 hexes towards Port Hedland but sank due to fires during the night.
P-38s and B-17Es hit Noumea for the second day in a row. I have no CAP on New Caledonia at the moment. Last time I tried to protect Noumea I lost 20 or so Zeros and shot down no P-38s.
Japanese task forces leaving the Gove area were seen moving north during the night, not moving towards Darwin. Allied subs were seen on the path to Darwin. My task forces will head to Koepang along the north coast of Timor, and refuel and rearm there. The Dutch cruiser task force is now at Exmouth.
Silversides hit tanker Urato Maru with a torpedo at Shimushiri-Jima. The tanker was unloading fuel there and burned up. Escorting patrol boat Ikunta Maru hit Silversides with 2 depth charges and damaged torpedo tubes in the shallow water, but Silversides may survive.
Destroyer Yamagumo did burn up. It moved 3 of the 4 hexes towards Port Hedland but sank due to fires during the night.
P-38s and B-17Es hit Noumea for the second day in a row. I have no CAP on New Caledonia at the moment. Last time I tried to protect Noumea I lost 20 or so Zeros and shot down no P-38s.
Japanese task forces leaving the Gove area were seen moving north during the night, not moving towards Darwin. Allied subs were seen on the path to Darwin. My task forces will head to Koepang along the north coast of Timor, and refuel and rearm there. The Dutch cruiser task force is now at Exmouth.
Re: Deja Vu All Over Again - apbarog(J) vs OPilot(A)
9 Feb 43
4 groups of Hurricanes swept Taung Gyi. 28 Nicks were on CAP. All Hurricanes came in at over 30k feet. 11 Nicks lost and downed 5 Hurricanes. Moved in 2 Oscars units to Taung Gyi and set the fighters at Toungoo to range 3 to help cover Taung Gyi.
Shwebo was bombed heavily by B25's at 3000 feet. Heavy damage but Shwebo won't be protected. Japanese fighters are at Rangoon, Taung Gyi and Toungoo. Occasionally Japanese bases in the plains will be covered by ranged CAP from those bases, but the goal is to protect those bases.
4 groups of Hurricanes swept Taung Gyi. 28 Nicks were on CAP. All Hurricanes came in at over 30k feet. 11 Nicks lost and downed 5 Hurricanes. Moved in 2 Oscars units to Taung Gyi and set the fighters at Toungoo to range 3 to help cover Taung Gyi.
Shwebo was bombed heavily by B25's at 3000 feet. Heavy damage but Shwebo won't be protected. Japanese fighters are at Rangoon, Taung Gyi and Toungoo. Occasionally Japanese bases in the plains will be covered by ranged CAP from those bases, but the goal is to protect those bases.
Re: Deja Vu All Over Again - apbarog(J) vs OPilot(A)
10 Feb 43
A US cruiser force and maybe some APDs were spotted at a dot base in the Aleutians west of Dutch Harbor. I suspected that troops were landing there, as the cruisers were there for a few days. Sallys bombed the 13th US Naval CB's there, at Yunaska Island. Part of OPilot's slow creeping advances.
B-24s in the Aleutians hit Attu Island.
Beaufighters and B-25s went back to hitting Gove. P-38s swept afterwards.
In Burma, the Allied target for today was Katha, again.
A US cruiser force and maybe some APDs were spotted at a dot base in the Aleutians west of Dutch Harbor. I suspected that troops were landing there, as the cruisers were there for a few days. Sallys bombed the 13th US Naval CB's there, at Yunaska Island. Part of OPilot's slow creeping advances.
B-24s in the Aleutians hit Attu Island.
Beaufighters and B-25s went back to hitting Gove. P-38s swept afterwards.
In Burma, the Allied target for today was Katha, again.
Re: Deja Vu All Over Again - apbarog(J) vs OPilot(A)
11 Feb 43
Magwe and what's left of its oil was the target for the Allies today. Hurricanes swept, about 3 squadrons of them. There was a light Japanese ranged CAP overhead consisting of 5 Oscars, 1 Tojo and 3 Tonys, to begin with. More arrived with later strikes, including against heavy bombers. Some oil was destroyed but not a lot. As the undamaged amount dwindles, it is becoming harder to hit. (Or so it seems.) Total air losses were 5 Oscars and a Tony while downing 2 Hurricanes and a B-24D.
About 50 B-25Cs hit Myitkyina, which was already heavily damaged and not repairing. Don't care about Myitkyina any longer.
B-17Es hit Gove and got a couple more of the damaged Nicks. With the base service already 100% damaged, no Nicks are going to be repaired. I'm going to be forcing in a bunch of amphibious supply on xAKLs, covered by carriers. When this happens, a couple of xAKs will try to load up the Nicks and the few float planes at Gove.
KB, loitering north of the Solomons, is in the process of replacing its A6M3a Zeros with A6M5 Zeros. Squadrons are flying off to Truk, upgrading, and flying back as the Zeros are repaired.
The Japanese have had a 2 to 1 advantage in points for quite awhile. The score just edged to just under the 2 to 1 margin as the Allies build bases bigger and we lose more aircraft consistently.
I'm pulling oil out of Port Arthur as a test to see if I can get oil to flow out of Urumchi.
Magwe and what's left of its oil was the target for the Allies today. Hurricanes swept, about 3 squadrons of them. There was a light Japanese ranged CAP overhead consisting of 5 Oscars, 1 Tojo and 3 Tonys, to begin with. More arrived with later strikes, including against heavy bombers. Some oil was destroyed but not a lot. As the undamaged amount dwindles, it is becoming harder to hit. (Or so it seems.) Total air losses were 5 Oscars and a Tony while downing 2 Hurricanes and a B-24D.
About 50 B-25Cs hit Myitkyina, which was already heavily damaged and not repairing. Don't care about Myitkyina any longer.
B-17Es hit Gove and got a couple more of the damaged Nicks. With the base service already 100% damaged, no Nicks are going to be repaired. I'm going to be forcing in a bunch of amphibious supply on xAKLs, covered by carriers. When this happens, a couple of xAKs will try to load up the Nicks and the few float planes at Gove.
KB, loitering north of the Solomons, is in the process of replacing its A6M3a Zeros with A6M5 Zeros. Squadrons are flying off to Truk, upgrading, and flying back as the Zeros are repaired.
The Japanese have had a 2 to 1 advantage in points for quite awhile. The score just edged to just under the 2 to 1 margin as the Allies build bases bigger and we lose more aircraft consistently.
I'm pulling oil out of Port Arthur as a test to see if I can get oil to flow out of Urumchi.
Re: Deja Vu All Over Again - apbarog(J) vs OPilot(A)
12 Feb 43
2 days ago, I brought a cruiser force west of Rangoon, trying to get into position to bombard. The ships were spotted. Instead of pulling back, I ordered them to the Burma coast, 3 hexes from Rangoon, and provided LRCAP. The task force wasn't spotted, so I ordered them to bombard Akyab and got surprise for once.
Night Naval bombardment of Akyab at 54,45 - Coastal Guns Fire Back!
Allied aircraft
no flights
Allied aircraft losses
Hurricane IIb Trop: 24 damaged
Hurricane IIb Trop: 1 destroyed on ground
Hudson IIIa: 21 damaged
Hurricane IIc Trop: 17 damaged
Hurricane IIc Trop: 1 destroyed on ground
1 Coastal gun shots fired in defense.
Japanese Ships
CA Mogami
CA Maya
CA Takao
CL Naka
DD Hatsuharu
DD Yamakaze
DD Samidare
DD Harusame
DD Shigure
Allied ground losses:
509 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Non Combat: 15 destroyed, 49 disabled
Engineers: 2 destroyed, 4 disabled
Guns lost 9 (1 destroyed, 8 disabled)
Vehicles lost 12 (4 destroyed, 8 disabled)
Manpower hits 1
Fires 343
Airbase hits 27
Airbase supply hits 5
Runway hits 30
Port hits 4
Port fuel hits 5
Port supply hits 2
It was an excellent bombardment. In the hopes of such an outcome, I sent Tonys to sweep Akyab, and they found just 6 Hurricanes on CAP, and at 15000 feet, so the Tonys got the bounce. Helens and Sallys then bombed, finding just 3 Hurricanes still flying, and they didn't get to the bombers. Planes were destroyed on the ground and moderate base damage was done. Finally, Sallys with Oscars arrived, and did a bit more damage. There's a lot of Allied engineers at Akyab, so the damage is very temporary, but at least we put a dent in the Hurricane squadrons. Total air losses were 14 Hurricanes (13 on the ground), 3 Hudsons (all on the ground), for the cost of a Helen and a Sally, both of which were downed by flak.
P-38s and B-17Es hit Noumea again. I've been ignoring these strikes. Now I've moved 2 Zero squadrons to La Foa and another to Koumac, and they will range CAP and LRCAP Noumea, respectively. The only (small) chance against the P-38s is a stacked CAP, in the hopes of downing a few of them.
KB had been hiding in a shallow hex on the northern edge of the Solomons north of Munda. I thought they might have been spotted, so KB moved to a shallow hex near Ontong Java. OPilot had a sub there and now both carrier TFs and the escorting BB TF has been spotted for sure. Torpedoes missed Japanese destroyers twice there. The TFs are ordered to go to Truk to disappear, finish taking on the new A6M5 Zeros, and replace as many Vals with Judys as possible.
I apologize for the few maps I've been showing lately. I prefer to see maps in AARs. They help tell the story without big blocks of text. There's just not been a lot to show for quite awhile. We remain in the stage of the game where my Japanese side has become mostly defensive, and OPilot's Allied side isn't ready to go on the offensive. I do have some plans for activity. I may reinvade Exmouth and may invade Carnavon to knock back the limited Australian offensive in northwestern Australia. I don't want to do things just for the sake of doing them. It's mostly time to attend to the defenses and be ready for a vicious counter-attack when possible. So, we mostly wait for the Allied juggernaut to wake up.
In some respects, I'm happy with this respite. Maybe my carrier battle success at Wake Island delayed the juggernaut from starting to roll. If so, that was my goal.
2 days ago, I brought a cruiser force west of Rangoon, trying to get into position to bombard. The ships were spotted. Instead of pulling back, I ordered them to the Burma coast, 3 hexes from Rangoon, and provided LRCAP. The task force wasn't spotted, so I ordered them to bombard Akyab and got surprise for once.
Night Naval bombardment of Akyab at 54,45 - Coastal Guns Fire Back!
Allied aircraft
no flights
Allied aircraft losses
Hurricane IIb Trop: 24 damaged
Hurricane IIb Trop: 1 destroyed on ground
Hudson IIIa: 21 damaged
Hurricane IIc Trop: 17 damaged
Hurricane IIc Trop: 1 destroyed on ground
1 Coastal gun shots fired in defense.
Japanese Ships
CA Mogami
CA Maya
CA Takao
CL Naka
DD Hatsuharu
DD Yamakaze
DD Samidare
DD Harusame
DD Shigure
Allied ground losses:
509 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Non Combat: 15 destroyed, 49 disabled
Engineers: 2 destroyed, 4 disabled
Guns lost 9 (1 destroyed, 8 disabled)
Vehicles lost 12 (4 destroyed, 8 disabled)
Manpower hits 1
Fires 343
Airbase hits 27
Airbase supply hits 5
Runway hits 30
Port hits 4
Port fuel hits 5
Port supply hits 2
It was an excellent bombardment. In the hopes of such an outcome, I sent Tonys to sweep Akyab, and they found just 6 Hurricanes on CAP, and at 15000 feet, so the Tonys got the bounce. Helens and Sallys then bombed, finding just 3 Hurricanes still flying, and they didn't get to the bombers. Planes were destroyed on the ground and moderate base damage was done. Finally, Sallys with Oscars arrived, and did a bit more damage. There's a lot of Allied engineers at Akyab, so the damage is very temporary, but at least we put a dent in the Hurricane squadrons. Total air losses were 14 Hurricanes (13 on the ground), 3 Hudsons (all on the ground), for the cost of a Helen and a Sally, both of which were downed by flak.
P-38s and B-17Es hit Noumea again. I've been ignoring these strikes. Now I've moved 2 Zero squadrons to La Foa and another to Koumac, and they will range CAP and LRCAP Noumea, respectively. The only (small) chance against the P-38s is a stacked CAP, in the hopes of downing a few of them.
KB had been hiding in a shallow hex on the northern edge of the Solomons north of Munda. I thought they might have been spotted, so KB moved to a shallow hex near Ontong Java. OPilot had a sub there and now both carrier TFs and the escorting BB TF has been spotted for sure. Torpedoes missed Japanese destroyers twice there. The TFs are ordered to go to Truk to disappear, finish taking on the new A6M5 Zeros, and replace as many Vals with Judys as possible.
I apologize for the few maps I've been showing lately. I prefer to see maps in AARs. They help tell the story without big blocks of text. There's just not been a lot to show for quite awhile. We remain in the stage of the game where my Japanese side has become mostly defensive, and OPilot's Allied side isn't ready to go on the offensive. I do have some plans for activity. I may reinvade Exmouth and may invade Carnavon to knock back the limited Australian offensive in northwestern Australia. I don't want to do things just for the sake of doing them. It's mostly time to attend to the defenses and be ready for a vicious counter-attack when possible. So, we mostly wait for the Allied juggernaut to wake up.
In some respects, I'm happy with this respite. Maybe my carrier battle success at Wake Island delayed the juggernaut from starting to roll. If so, that was my goal.