Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apbarog(A) vs OPilot(J)

[apbarog]

20 Dec 41

xAK Ethel Edwards, already badly damaged, has been holed up at Kudat on Borneo. It's pretty hopeless for Ethel, but the crew isn't prepared to give up yet. With the enemy landing at Kudat, they raise anchor and head to Balabac, 2 hexes away. Arriving there, they run into CVL Ryujo with 4 destroyers. Ryujo shows smoke from the Dutch torpedo yesterday. Both task forces decline combat, and the cargo ship disbands there. Not safe, but safe for today. There's no hope for escape, moving 2 hexes a day. The front is moving further away.

Dutch CL De Ruyter and destoyers are returning to Soerabaja. I-153 fires 6 torpedoes at the light cruiser, but misses.

Near Manado, sub Perch fires 4 torpedoes at destroyer Asakaze, but misses.

Bettys bomb a small Philippine unit at Atimonan. The unit is withdrawing to the north. Fighters at Manila will LRCAP today. The Bettys had no escorts today.

Nells from Babeldaop find the 3 remaining AMs fleeing Mindanao to the southeast. Tanager, Quail and Finch are lost.

24 Anns bomb Chinese troops at Kanhsien, in southern China. 5 Chinese fighters are moved in today and will attempt to intercept.

I-26 is still sitting just off the coast of San Francisco. Several task forces are hunting it. No hits so far.

Surigao, east of Cagayan on Mindanao, is invaded.

An enemy shock attack at Tarakan does not take the base, but casualties are higher for the Dutch, and the base is about to fall. Despite 2 attacks so far, none of the oil is damaged. No Dutch engineers here may have something to do with that. I don't know if the relationship between engineers and damage to facilites when losing a base is folklore or fact.

Ternate is lost, as is Kudat.

SigInt says that the enemy 4th Division is loaded on xAPs and headed for Truk.

[apbarog]

21 Dec 41

Enemy unloading continues at Cotabato, Tarakan, and Manado. Kuantan is invaded. Enemy bombing here and there in China, Malaysia, and the Philippines. Surigao on Mindanao is lost.

An enemy attack near Nanyang, China has big losses for both sides, although it's destroyed squads for the Chinese and disabled ones for the Japanese. Still, any losses is something.

Ground combat at 86,46 (near Nanyang)

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 24386 troops, 204 guns, 8 vehicles, Assault Value = 730

Defending force 18154 troops, 114 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 529

Japanese adjusted assault: 552

Allied adjusted defense: 154

Japanese assault odds: 3 to 1

Combat modifiers
Defender: experience(-)
Attacker: shock(+)

Japanese ground losses:
2071 casualties reported
Squads: 8 destroyed, 129 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 36 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 17 disabled

Allied ground losses:
3600 casualties reported
Squads: 296 destroyed, 24 disabled
Non Combat: 193 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 7 destroyed, 5 disabled
Guns lost 9 (5 destroyed, 4 disabled)
Units retreated 3

Defeated Allied Units Retreating!

Assaulting units:
6th Division
40th Division

Defending units:
7th Chinese Corps
48th Chinese Corps
84th Chinese Corps

[apbarog]

22 Dec 41

Landings continue at Kuantan and Tarakan.

I-9 attacks PC Ariadne with 2 torpedoes near San Francisco but misses. No depth charge hits. The best ASW defense this early is just having the enemy use up their torpedoes so far from base.

Enemy bombers hit Manado and Kuantan troops hard, but do little damage. Some bombing in China.

MTBs from Hong Kong are now at Jolo refueling. Kates from a CVL task force bomb the boats, but miss, in both the morning and in the afternoon.

KB (at least part of it) is spotted between Malaysia and Borneo.

Tarakan is lost to the enemy, as is Cotabato. Manado holds with a 1 to 1 attack, but Dutch losses are twice the Japanese, and the base is about to fall.

Prince of Wales and Repulse are now at Sydney. Prince of Wales can repair completely there. Repulse has 6 FLOT damage, so it cannot. I decide to repair its other damage and leave it there. It's a long way to Pearl Harbor. Prince of Wales will escort carriers when repaired; Repulse will not.

[apbarog]

23 Dec 41

Sub Perch takes a shot at TB Hayabusa near Manado, but misses with 4 torpedoes. S-40 misses xAK Nanrei Maru with 2 torpedoes near Tawi Tawi. The enemy task force here is the Tarakan invasion task force, now retiring, probably to Cam Ranh Bay.

The usual bombing here and there in China and Malaysia. I do have 8 A-29s bombing enemy ground troops occasionally. They are based at Changsha, and the base got enemy recon for the first time today. I moved in a small Chinese fighter unit.

Dutch 139WH-3s from Batavia made repeated attempts to hit invasion shipping at Palembang. The only enemy CAP was Petes, even though KB is close. A few Petes were shot down by the bombers, and only one bomber was an ops loss. But no bombs hit, and there are some juicy big xAPs here.

The Palembang invasion force had minesweepers, but they didn't find the mines just outside of Palembang. Nor did they hit any of them. Maybe they will on the way home, or maybe KB will get a little closer to Palembang and find a few mines.

Another enemy deliberate attack at Hong Kong fails, getting just 1 to 1 odds. 680 enemy losses with 465 Allies ones. About as good as an Allied player can expect.

Kuantan is lost, as is Manus, northwest of Rabaul.

Manado holds for another day, with a 1 to 1 attack, but Dutch losses are again twice the enemy's, so the base will fall soon.

2 US carriers approach Brisbane for fuel. Then on to Sydney for repairs, then to Auckland to sit and do nothing for awhile, other than training pilots.

[Lowpe]

ORIGINAL: apbarog

22 Dec 41

When you play as Japan, there are always coast watcher reports of ships at Pakhoi.

Does the supply loss from Luzon hurt?

[apbarog]

I don't know about the coastwatchers. It appears to me that my ships haven't been spotted, and OPilot hasn't taken any actions to make me think they have been.

The supply loss could hurt Luzon. Instead of 45k at Bataan, I have about 30k now. Depends what OPilot does. If he doesn't push further anytime soon, and wants to clean up Luzon later, it would hurt. If he finishes Luzon off quickly, then it won't matter much.

I decided to try and push the supply into China. If I lose Luzon, well, I was always going to lose Luzon. If I can make a difference in China, then I'll try it. It's a bit of an experiment. It may not matter much there either. All depends on what OPilot does.

[Lowpe]

Looks like the supply should get back to the roads/rail line pretty well.

Be interesting to see how it turns out.[:)]

[apbarog]

24 Dec 41

Landings continue at Palembang. Nothing found my mines near there again today. Palembang was then lost.

Near Tarakan, the 8 British MTBs were inbound to the adjacent and still Allied base, but ran into a big convoy of 2 PBs, 2 xAKs, 6 xAKLs, and an xAP. Unfortunately, both sides decided to withdraw during this daylight encounter.

Bettys bombed Singapore's port again, but again hit nothing from 17000 feet. Importantly, Singapore's forts went to level 3.

Manado was lost today also. Enemy paratroopers dropped on Djambi, near Palembang, but found a fairly equal sized defense. Minimal casualties on both sides: 21 for the enemy, 9 for the Dutch. The Dutch Djambi Cdo will counterattack tomorrow.

The saga of the supply ships going to China continues. All cargo ships are now at Pakhoi and unloading, still not spotted. Supply at the Chinese capital now exceeds 50,000. I've combined this strategy along with unloading about 25,000 supply at Rangoon and trying to get it to seep into China.

2 US carriers made it to Brisbane and refueled. Now it's on to Sydney for some minor repairs.

[apbarog]

25 Dec 41

Had a very nice PT boat encounter. The PT boats are from Luzon, and traveled south to Mindanao hoping to get out of the Philippines. The xAPs here are very big ones.

Night Time Surface Combat, near Surigao at 81,88, Range 7,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
BB Mutsu
BB Yamashiro
DD Asagao
DD Fuyo
DD Karukaya
AK Sakito Maru
xAP Hie Maru, Shell hits 3, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
xAP Katori Maru, Torpedo hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAP Suwa Maru
xAP Buenos Aires Maru
xAP Huzi Maru

Allied Ships
PT-31
PT-32
PT-33
PT-34
PT-35
PT-41, Shell hits 2, heavy fires

[edit: Another PT torpedo missed Yamashiro]

There were 2 sinking ship audio clips later in the turn.

Kuching was invaded. Tavoy was lost. Evacuated Chuhsien in southern China was lost. The Dutch counterattacked enemy paras at Djambi but failed.

2 US carriers will arrive at Sydney today.

[apbarog]

26 Dec 41

Landings continue at Kuching. xAK Azuma Maru is hit by 3 six inch coastal gun shells and left burning.

Sub Seadragon fires 2 torpedos at xAK Atago Maru near Manado. One torpedo hits but it is a dud. 8 or 10 US subs from the Philippines are now basing out of Darwin, and deployed from Borneo to Babeldaop.

Dutch sub KXI makes three separate attacks on destroyers near Balikpapan, but all torpedoes miss.

Hong Kong is deliberately attacked by the enemy, and again the attack comes up short with 1 to 1 odds. Both sides take about 500 casualties, but the Allies have far more destroyed losses. Just a matter of time. The defense here has been good.

Nearby at Pakhoi, one of my cargo task forces is finally spotted unloading supply. Unless there is bad weather, the ships will undoubtedly be lost tomorrow. I decide to continue to unload as much supply as I can as long as I can. There's over 20,000 supply at Pakhoi today. With just a small Chinese unit there, 95% of that will be redistributed to the interior. Getting between 20k and 30k of supply into China is worth losing the ships eventually. They will try to escape around the northern tip of Luzon if they make it that far.

Other ships have successfully made that trip. PG Isabel and xAP Neptuna just arrived at Prince Rupert, Canada from Luzon. The following ships are at or near Dutch Harbor, having made the same trip: xAK James Lykes, TK Manatawny, xAK Ravnaas, xAK Governor Wright, xAK Ming Sang, and xAK Hai Lee. I wish that I had sent the valuable AS ships and Langley that way.

Alor Star is lost to the Imperial Guard Division. Butuan on Mindanao is lost. The enemy begins to move to Cagayan.

US carriers begin minor repairs at Sydney. It'll take about 7 to 10 days to repair everything completely. Fresh Buffaloes are loaded up to fill out the fighter squadrons. All squadrons begin to train. I've shown and used the carriers aggressively. Now it's time to disappear for awhile and train.

[apbarog]

The Allied Sub War

I'm keeping track of which Allied subs got torpedo hits on what targets for the war. So far, I've had 9 successful sub torpedo attacks. 8 of the 9 have been Dutch subs. I'm not tracking dud hits, as that information can only be collected from the replays, and I'm not going back to rewatch all of those. Ok, I might go back and watch them, but that will take some time to do. I would like to know that information also.

Targets hit include CVL Ryujo (not sunk), AO Hayamote (probably sunk), an xAP, 3 xAKs, and AK, an AMc, and a PB.

The Dutch have done well. I'll recheck, but I don't think I've lost a single sub yet.

[edit: The only non-Dutch sub hit was from S-37. The fleet subs that start at Manila ran transport missions to Pakhoi, so they weren't engaged immediately. Since then, some went to Darwin and rebased. Others are headed to eastern Australia. But I have had a number of dud hits already. And now I'm curious and will have to watch the replays...]

[apbarog]

27 Dec 41

The 8 British MTBs from Hong Kong engage cruisers Myoko, Haguro, and Nachi, and 4 destroyers at Balikpapan. The fight goes from 11,000 yards to 2,000 yards, where ships are spotted, but neither side can hit anything. 2 MTBs fire torpdoes, missing a cruiser and a destroyer. The MTBs later run into 2 TBs escorting an AO, but neither side engages.

Cruiser Myoko is then reported to have hit a mine at Balikpapan.

6 Allied Tms then engage 2 cruisers and 4 destroyers at Kendari. One TM is lost. A destroyer is missed with a torpedo. In a followup fight in the daylight, another TM is lost.

Enemy bombing in China, Malaysia, and Burma.

12 Dutch bombers with 10 Dutch escorts fly from Kendari, and target ships there. The fighters sacrifice themselves against 11 Zeros, and all bombers drop bombs on targets CVE Hosho, BB Hyuga, and 2 destroyers. All bombs miss. There were more Dutch bombers at Kendari that didn't fly. I swap in a new fighter squadron and will try again tomorrow, since there was no invasion there today.

xAP Takatiho Maru is reported to have hit a mine at Balikpapan, where the enemy lands.

Nanyang is lost, and Hong Kong finally falls. Fragments of several Hong Kong units were extracted by seaplane. Kuching on Borneo is lost, as is Jesselton.

[apbarog]

28 Dec 41

Enemy troops continue to unload at Balikpapan. The 8 British MTBs from Hong Kong engage task forces at and near Balikpapan several times today. Some MTBs had torpedoes left, and some did not. The weather was bad, and maximum visibility was just 2,000 yards. This resulted in some engagements starting and then ending with no fighting, as the task forces started farther apart and didn't close the range.

The first engagement was against cruisers Haguro and Nachi and 3 destroyers. One MTB was sunk. The second engagement was against the huge invasion task force at Balikpapan. The ships were caught unloading. Huge xAP Haruna Maru was spotted smoking at the beginning of the combat, no doubt from hitting a mine yesterday. 2 MTBs targeted the big transport and hit it with 2 torpedoes, probably sinking it. 4 MTBs were sunk in the brave fight. The transport had apparently already unloaded all of its troops. Later, Kates from KB went after the MTBs as they retired towards Soerabaja, but all torpedoes missed.

Over at Kendari, 4 TMs also engaged several times, first against cruisers Maya and Natori and 4 destroyers. One TM was sunk. In a second fight against the same ships, during the day, all of the remaining 3 TMs were sunk. There's no sign of invasion shipping here today. I have the feeling that there was an invasion planned and some task force orders got messed up. Carriers and combat ships arrived, but then nothing. It happens to all of us in the game.

Loyang in China was lost. Djambi on Sumatra was lost, where armor from Palembang came to join the enemy paratroopers. Balikpapan was lost. All oil facilities remained intact.

CVL Hermes will arrive at Perth tomorrow. I sent it from the Indian Ocean. It will eventually be used in the South Pacific, mainly as a decoy carrier task force. I'll show it when I want my carriers to appear to be where they are not. Torpedo bombers on Hermes will train for ASW to help with lighting up enemy subs.

Yorktown will arrive at San Diego tomorrow.

[zuluhour]

very sneaky with Hermes.......

[apbarog]

Another sneaky operation is in the works. French destroyer Le Triomphant started in the South Pacific. I'm sending it out, alone. It was at Tulagi, guarding the Lark Force landing there. The destroyer is now headed to Wake Island. It will pass between Kwajalein and Truk. Wake Island has fuel, so Le Triomphant will top off the tanks and then head west. The goal will be to intercept ships between Japan and Truk. It's likely that any such task force will not be heavily guarded. And it may make OPilot start to guard future task forces behind the lines.

Le Triomphant has become a favorite of mine. Good ship, good crew, great speed.

[BBfanboy]

ORIGINAL: apbarog

Another sneaky operation is in the works. French destroyer Le Triomphant started in the South Pacific. I'm sending it out, alone. It was at Tulagi, guarding the Lark Force landing there. The destroyer is now headed to Wake Island. It will pass between Kwajalein and Truk. Wake Island has fuel, so Le Triomphant will top off the tanks and then head west. The goal will be to intercept ships between Japan and Truk. It's likely that any such task force will not be heavily guarded. And it may make OPilot start to guard future task forces behind the lines.

Le Triomphant has become a favorite of mine. Good ship, good crew, great speed.

+1, and the ship's guns seem to deal much more damage than the 5"/38 guns, and their torpedoes work!

[Lowpe]

ORIGINAL: apbarog

Another sneaky operation is in the works. French destroyer Le Triomphant started in the South Pacific. I'm sending it out, alone. It was at Tulagi, guarding the Lark Force landing there. The destroyer is now headed to Wake Island. It will pass between Kwajalein and Truk. Wake Island has fuel, so Le Triomphant will top off the tanks and then head west. The goal will be to intercept ships between Japan and Truk. It's likely that any such task force will not be heavily guarded. And it may make OPilot start to guard future task forces behind the lines.

Le Triomphant has become a favorite of mine. Good ship, good crew, great speed.

I have sent Boise on that mission...and she has performed great.

LeTriomphant is my favorite Allied ship.[:)]

[apbarog]

29 Dec 41

Near Kendari, sub Snapper fires 2 torpedoes at DD Sanae but misses. CS Chiyoda is spotted there also.

Madang, New Guinea is invaded by fast transport. Showing an Allied cruiser at Rabaul earlier has preempted any enemy move to Kavieng and Rabaul. So far.

KB launches strikes on Kendari's airfield, doing moderate damage. There were about 40 Dutch aircraft here, but most just left when they didn't fly and were spotted.

Chengchow, in NE China, is lost. Digos, southwest of Davao on Mindanao, is lost.

Yorktown has arrived at San Diego. It will leave immediately for Pearl Harbor.

9 Sonia's bomb Pakhoi's port. My xAKLs and xAKs unloading supply here were spotted yesterday and the day before. I could have hidden them in port, but did not.

[apbarog]

DD Le Triomphant and CM Abdiel

Two of my favorite ships. Both can sprint 11 hexes a phase. Abdiel can be used to mine locations very dangerous locations, places that a ship wouldn't normally go. Abdiel can sit 11 hexes from the location, sprint in at night, drop mines, and sprint out. Even with enemy air dominance in the area, it can go right to the enemy base and have a good chance at not being spotted before or after.

Le Triomphant is west of Kwajalein now, northbound to Wake Island. Abdiel is in the Indian Ocean, going from India to Australia.

[BBfanboy]

Note that Abdiel can also do commando raids ...