Dutch AVP Arend: Scenario 1 Exploits

[WEXF]

I have never found enough units to give Geraldton a robust defense in 1942, which makes me wonder if Perth is well garrisoned? A typical Japanese move is to land further south and cut off a stack of LCUs in isolated locations. If Perth fell, Geraldton would indeed be isolated.

What altitude are you using for training those FPs? I notice one pilot's ASW went up two points but the DEF skill did not rise at all. I know they don't rise at the same rate, but 46 is pretty low for DEF skill and should climb fairly easily. I train at minimum altitude for the main skill (2000' for NavB, 1000' for LowN and ASW). Some say training at low altitude makes pilots too fatigued but I have not seen that if the range is set to 0.
[/quote]

Thanks for the comments. I think Perth is in pretty good shape. There is currently almost 400 AV there including some decent armor, supported by a variety of aircraft. There are plans to increase the further defense of Perth.
I am training the two pilots of the Walrus II at an altitude of 2000 feet. I had decided not to go at 1000 as I feared possible issues with both the plane and the pilots. I do have the TB pilots training ASW at 1000. That squadron has a dozen planes and more than a dozen pilots so I am not worried about them.

[BBfanboy]

I was referring to the FP squadron with only two pilots (Arend's?).

[WEXF]

I was referring to the FP squadron with only two pilots (Arend's?).

The two pilots on Arend are the ones I referred to above that are flying the Walrus II and training at 2000 feet.

[BBfanboy]

Ok - some confusion on my part when your last sentence was about a squadron with 12 planes when I never said anything about the TBs. I did talk in general about training practices which I think is where we made the crossover that brought you to the TB squadron example. All clear now.

[WEXF]

It was late in the afternoon when a staff officer finally briefed everyone on a part of the ground unit plans for the defense of Geraldton. A decision had been made to assign the remnants of the North Sumatra KNIL Territory Regiment to Geraldton. All of the sub unit battalions had already been converted to ABDA Command and what remained of the Sabang, VanAaran and Medan BN had all been evacuated to either Perth or were already in Geraldton. The 2nd Garrison BN was split between Geraldton and the mountain defense position in Bandoeng. All that remained of the 2nd Garrison BN in the mountains were 5 support squads, a total of only 50 men under the command of LTC Boss, N. The group at Geraldton had 1 Rifle Squad and a support squad, a total of 25 men under the command of Major Prins, W.
The Medan BN was ordered to move to Geraldton and it was only a matter of some time before the position in Bandoeng would be lost. When that happened the NS Regiment would be able to be combined in Geraldton and start to rebuild to the limits dictated by the availability of "devices". The latest battle details of the fight at Bandoeng show the combination of Dutch hold outs fighting off an enemy division supported by artillery.

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No one at the meeting believed that the reformed NS Regiment would be a significant fighting force but there was a support role that could be very important to the other units in Geraldton. All assets were being put in place to try and hold out as long as possible.

[WEXF]

As the sun was setting on 10Jun it was quite clear that the situation at Geraldton was continuing to improve. Whatever variable you chose to look at the data was getting better. The port was now 81% of the way to level 3 and the number of engineers at Geraldton had gone up from 17>27 and an engineering vehicle was also on base. That should speed up the progress on building the port. Aviation support, the number of guns and all the troops numbers had also grown indicating the arrival of more units and or replacements.

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Training of the pilots on Arend continued to show progress with PO Caruthers improving his ASW skill from 47>48 and his defense skill from 46>47.

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The crew of Arend was especially pleased when they saw a graphic showing the extent of the search patterns around Geraldton, Perth and Carnarvon. They knew the patrol planes they were servicing were part of that effort and they all felt that while they couldn't know what the enemy might send their way or if they would be able to defend against an enemy attack, they had a good chance of seeing them coming.

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[WEXF]

11Jun was fairly quiet at Geraldton. The port is getting a bit closer to size 3 and there are a few new troops but the scuttle butt is that an important individual is scheduled to arrive in a day or two. No improvement in the pilot training of the Walrus II crew on Arend happened this turn.

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[WEXF]

As the sun came up on 12Jun the port at Geraldton looked pretty much the same. The port had expanded a bit and was now 83% of the way to level 3. The main activity was at the airfield where everyone was looking at the newly arrived 14 fighter planes. They were not ready to fly as they had arrived by rail but their very presence was a big morale lift. Up to now there had been no fighters at Geraldton.

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No one expected these Dutch 75A-7 Hawks and B339D fighters to be able to stand up to a large force of Japanese Zeros, but they were something. The Hawks were not armed well but they did have decent cruise speed of 262 and a top speed of 321. That was pretty good compared to the A6M2 Zero (331-207)and the Ki-43-1c Oscar (305-199).

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It was expected that these fighters were to be used mainly as a CAP for Geraldton and any TF that might be approaching from Cape Town or elsewhere. The Hawks also had the ability to carry a small bomb load. In the case of an enemy attack in the nearby open terrain, they could help.
The squadron had just been transferred officially to ABDA Command and currently had 11 planes. There was one additional plane in the pool that would be added to bring the squadron to full strength. Historically, this squadron had never lost a pilot and never had a fighter shot down or destroyed by flak. One plane had been lost in operations.

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Most impressive were the Dutch pilots of this squadron. There were 13 of them with an average experience of 63. They had flown between 50 and 93 missions and were decently trained in ground bombing.

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Less was known about the other fighters that had arrived but they too would fit into the defense plans.
The pilots on Arend had some good news as the ASW skill level for PO Caruthers had gone from 48>49. Fatigue on the Walrus II was not at 17 so some attention needed to be placed on keeping the float plane in flying order. It was fine for now but soon it would be sat down for some rest and maintenance.

[WEXF]

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[WEXF]

13Jun was also going to be a good day for the men at Geraldton. The port continued to get closer to level 3, now 84% there. Small increases in the number of troops were also noted. One of the squadrons of fighters had been completely made ready and the final three planes of the other squadron were being worked on. On Arend the pilots of the Walrus improved their skill levels. WO Hazard's "Defn" went from 56>57 and PO Caruther's from 47>50! Caruther's "Exp" improved from 48>50.

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What really made the men at Geraldton feel good was the news from Perth. Overnight 4 Squadrons of American heavy and medium bombers landed. All were part of the Seventh USAAF. In the group were 24 B-17E heavy bombers capable of carrying 8-500# bombs to a target 600 miles away. That would be enough to cover all of the open ground between Carnarvon and Esperance. The remaining 8 planes were B-26 Marauders, an older but still very useful weapon. Up until the arrival of the Americans the only medium bombers at Perth were 12 Beaufort V. Everyone at Geraldton really hoped the Americans were in Perth to stay and not just in transit. Perth was now a level 8 airfield with over 200 aviation support and loads of supplies, so there was a good chance that the big planes would stick around.

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[WEXF]

14 June started out as a typical day at Geraldton. Progress was continuing on the improvement of the port with it now being 85% > P3. PO Caruthers, flying the Walrus II on Arend, had his ASW skill advance from 49>50 and his defense number from 50>51.
What made LCDR Goerk and the crew of Arend, as well as everyone else at the base, want to hit the bar and celebrate was the arrival of one man. That man was LGen Spoor, SH. During the last week there had been lots of scuttlebutt about the pending arrival of some important personnel but no one knew or was willing to share any details.
Early in the morning a train arrived carrying a small remnant of KNIL Army Command, just 4 support squads (40 men) under the command of Colonel de Koning. This remnant had been airlifted out of Palembang and moved to Australia as it was clear that the DEI were not going to be able to hold out against the Japanese.
Gen. Spoor had been previously evacuated to Australia and had flown into Geraldton to take command of the KNIL Army Command remnant. In game mechanics the change cost 7PP and Col. Koning returned to the pool of available Dutch commanders.

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At Palembang, KNIL Army Command under General Poorten, was holding on but in a hopeless completely surrounded position. In game mechanics the fall of Palembang should make the remnant in Geraldton the command HQ and allow it to start to add support devices. It will b interesting to see if the new unit will have the same command radius of 5. I expect it will.

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[WEXF]

What really was going through the minds of all of the Dutch troops at Geraldton was that the base was now under the command of a Dutch General and that everything pointed to things remaining that way. Everyone knew General Spoor. It was well known that he had the confidence of General MacArthur. Rumors continued that additional senior commanders were heading to Geraldton so everyone could tell that the decision to make Geraldton a key base in the defense of Western Australia was going to be supported by action!
Another indication of that commitment was the construction of a new airfield at Cue, just 4 hexes (160 miles) east of Geraldton. It had been carved out of the wilderness "dot base" but had the potential of growing to a level 9 airfield.

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[WEXF]

June was half over and the situation at Geraldton was looking better every day. The port was now at 86% of the way to level 3. If there was one thing that everyone was concerned with it was the shortage of support troops at the base. 188 were needed but only 144 were present. When questions were asked the answer was always the same. "Don't worry-a solution is in the works and results will be apparent shortly".
An interesting issue related to game process appears on the base screen for Geraldton this turn. The Aviation Support is shown as 31+10. Recent past screens showed 32+10. A check of all the units at Geraldton shows the actual number to be 32. Not sure how to explain this?

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Training of the pilots on Arend continued with PO Caruthers seeing his ASW skill going from 51-53.

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[WEXF]

As the sun came up at Geraldton everyone at the base once again, felt great as they quickly noticed changes. The port had advanced to 88% > level 3. This was the first time progress had moved 2% in 1 day. It made sense as there were now more engineers and engineering vehicles at the base. The big difference was the number of support troops. No longer was there a shortage of these important assets. Support for aviation and the number of fighters on base had also increased.

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Everyone was waiting to hear the details of what had happened but that wasn't scheduled for a few hours. The crew of Arend congratulated both of the Walrus pilots as both of their ASW skill ratings had improved. However, it was noticed that the fatigue of their float plane had reached 22 and it was decided to rest the plane for needed maintenance.

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[WEXF]

Everyone was excited as the afternoon meeting started. The initial piece of news was that the remaining men of the Medan Garrison BN had arrived in Geraldton by train. There were only about 250 men but the story was more about what they represented. They were part of the Northern Sumatra Territory Regiment and the final part to have reached Geraldton. They would be unpacking and rejoining with the others to reform the regiment. The news was bitter sweet as it meant that any other parts of these units that had remained in the DEI had been lost.

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On the same train was the entire 224 Group RAF, Air HQ, commanded by Air Commander Henry Cobby. This British unit was responsible for the large increase in the number of support troops at the base. Everyone knew ACOM Hobby. He had been based at Singapore when the Japanese attacked in December and had been evacuated to the DEI and then to Australia. It was fitting for him as he was born in Melbourne. The air HQ provides the ability for suitable aircraft to carry torpedoes, a big plus for the defense of the region. The 14 pilots of No. 100 Squadron gave out a cheer as they would now be able to carry torpedoes on their Vildebeest III bombers.

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[WEXF]

As the orders for 17Jun were being issued everyone knew they would be raising a glass that night to the reconstituted North Sumatra Territory Regiment. The Medan BN had completed unpacking allowing the combining of all 4 of the regiment's parts to join together.

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The NS Regiment was under the command of LTC Cavendish (he had commanded the Medan BN- the other commanders were returned to the pool) and contained only about 700 men but it had the look of a real unit and had the potential to fill out and be a significant part of the Geraldton defense. Presently it was only at 23% of TOE and because of the non-availability of Dutch Infantry squads it would never have the strength it had on paper. That being said, there were a number of devices that could be added.

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The plan was to set the orders for the regiment to accept re-enforcements but not allow upgrades. That decision was based on the ability of the regiment to add 105mm Howitzers and the intel that there were 42 of them in the pool. The TOE had the 105s being upgraded to 25 Pdr guns. There was only a single 25 Pdr in the pool! Both of these artillery pieces were used by many nations so it was unclear whether any would be allocated to the NS Regiment. Time would tell. The addition of engineers, support troops and 12.7mm AAMG could also help fill out the new unit as there were quantities of these devices available.
Geraldton had improved to 89% > a level 3 port. On Arend the pilots were not flying and it looked like that might continue for a few days as the fatigue level on the Walrus remained at 22.

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[BBfanboy]

If you have air support at Geraldton, land the Walrus for a day and it will be repaired. Then put it back on the docked or disbanded ship by crane & it will have 0 damage.
I use this to repair carrier aircraft which never seem to fully repair while aboard.

[WEXF]

Great idea, never thought of that. I will implement immediately. We have tons of aviation support at Geraldton.
Thanks for your help.

[WEXF]

The morning of 18Jun found the base at Geraldton now 91% of the way to a P3. Most interesting was the number of fighters at the base had increased to 20 and the off loaded Walrus II from Arend was listed separately.

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Thanks to advice received in this thread the Walrus II had been off loaded to enable repairs to move quickly. In 1 day the plane now had 0 fatigue and was ready to be reloaded on Arend.

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The increase in fighters was due to the arrival by train of Section A of 3-VIGV. All of the squadron was now at Geraldton and steps were taken to re-build the unit.

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From this screen you can see that 2 sections of the squadron had already been changed to 224 Group RAF command. 2 PP were spent to change Section A.

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[WEXF]

An interesting observation is that now that 3-VIGV Squadron is re-built and under 224 Group RAF command it is listed under "Attached To:" in gray, meaning it cannot be changed to another command. It will follow 224 Group RAF where ever it goes.

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