Hurt, But Not Beaten! - An Allied '44 Counter-Offensive AAR - SolInvictus202 vs jdsrae - concluded

[SolInvictus202]

Welcome, everyone to this shared AAR between jsdrae (who has a closed AAR of his own, which has been going on for years) and myself, who took over from CrackSabbath some 5 months game-time ago. Auto-Victory had been achieved at the end of '43. We are playing a Scen 1 without any HRs.

300px-Japanese_aircraft_carrier_Zuikaku_and_two_destroyers_under_attack_on_20_June_1944_(80-G-238025).jpg (24.48 KiB) Viewed 1958 times

the main reason for writing these posts is to provide insight for readers of jsdrae's AAR on what is now going on with the Allied side of the game as well as provide both me and jsdrae with the opportunity to exchange some much needed banter on how we constantly screw up in-game
the last part of that sentence explains that this AAR will be OPEN to all readers and also to my opponent, who is most welcome to share some further thoughts on his viewpoint, without going into too much detail or give anything away, which might be useful to me - as he has his own AAR to do that in, which I am staying out of.

We have now reached September '44 and the operational tempo of the much needed Allied counterattack has finally increased - how much will be shared in a later post.

Initially I would like to discuss the situation the game was in when I took over as well as my initial thoughts and plans (as far as I can remember)



THE CHANGE IN COMMAND:

First and foremost I should like to thank jsdrae for not only allowing me to take over the game, but also doing so while knowing that I read his AAR up to that point. A fact I made no secret of, especially since I sent some PNs from time to time to thank him for his excellent reports from the front.
Consequently, I very much knew about most of the situation on the ground - the fact that China had fallen and that several initial counterattacks by Allied forces had failed and resulted in considerable losses in both men, ships and planes.

When we agreed that I take over the game I gave myself a week to look things over and think of a general plan on how to continue - jsdrae was very patient in letting me get my bearings, but when I sent the first turn back we did not agree on the almost "usual" ceasefire for a few days - not because either of us denied the other that transition time - but rather because I for once did not see any need for it. There was a lull in the fight as it was, and so I figured we could get stuck right in.
I was convinced that aside from the actual situation in the campaign I would require some time to get a feel for my opponent and thus figured I'd try a few things out over the coming weeks - to gauge reaction-time etc etc.
I knew beforehand that, despite this being jsdrae's first PBEM, he was a most competent opponent, who had considerable understanding of game mechanics and a general feel for interpreting certain developments in the correct way.



THE SITUATION:

I will break this up into several sections - the three arms of the military as well as the different areas of the map - without going into too much detail, simply because I forgot most of it I believe.



LAND FORCES:

In general, due to the loss of China, no house rules of any kind, the Allied forces are hard pressed in the Burma, India section of the map - simply due to the numbers of available units and replacements being rather limited - no matter the actual losses.
The situation I found my army in however, was one of several years of constant attrition, with almost completely empty pools, several main combat units utterly destroyed and not even bought back yet with PPs and thus - even if reconstructed - in need of many months of reconstruction. (these units are actually still filling out their ranks - not one has rejoined the front)

Additionally quite a substantial amount of US Army combat units had been redeployed to the Burma Front, while lots and lots of Australian units (which I tend to buy out early, to equalize the pressure of combat losses between British, Australian and US Army replacements a bit better) had neither been bought out nor upgraded in any way.
This brings me to the first main issue I spotted (and when I state such a thing, it is obviously only a very subjective statement - other players may disagree with me on these things entirely - but every player has his own style): Upgrades were ON for both all planes, ships as well as ground forces. This drove me nuts, as I had Base forces back in the West Coast with Rifle Squads 44 and combat division which were still running around with the basic 41 Rifle Squads.
With the pools being empty, it would take a long time to amend this situation, and it is actually still an ongoing process.

Thus my first actions would be focused on amending these issues - with setting up lists on what to buy out or reconstruct first. Additionally I started planning my counter-offensive and thus ordered units to plan for new objectives on day 1 of my new command.
Generally Allied forces were planning for a historical campaign with the recapture of New Guinea being completely passed by in favour of a massive assault on the Marianas. Why? I never understood - especially considering the massive losses the Allied Navy had taken up to this point AND the proven fact that the Japanese had turned the Marianas into a massive fortress. Having looked at all of the ALlied SigInt (which CrackSabbath generously provided me with) I knew that those islands were packed to the brim with elite units - any attack there would have been unbelievably costly.
Thus a new angle of attack had to be found. And it turns out that this new angle of attack has proven to be the correct choice thus far - as Tokyo and Osaka have already been set aflame several times now....

Sea and Air Forces will follow in the next post later on.

[SolInvictus202]

SEA FORCES

Allied ship losses had been appauling in the campaign so far - not only had 4 Carriers been lost early on in late '42 already but also a significant number of support ships - from 14 BBs, especially 44 CAs and CLs all the way down to much needed APs etc etc. One issue annoyed me specifically - the LSLs lost in a - in my viewpoint - rather useless move on Horn Island.

So despite the fact that Allied ships would come off the production line almost daily when I took over in April '44 I was nowhere near the usual "comfort zone" with more ships being available than actually necessary for any specific task.
Only one area I was rather happy with: the DDs - plenty were available.

Another issue i was faced with - which I usually like to take care of immediately - was the circumstance of hardly any xAP conversions having taken place throughout the years. Furthermore the upgrades had been left "on" and thus those conversions were no longer possible. So even troop space for troop movement or "slow" invasions through massive use of xAPs were not really an option.
All these issues severely limited my options for invasion angles etc. - So a plan had to be devised which would ensure maximum yield for minimum ships and aim at a weak point which would allow significant gains to be made with only half the available effective land forces - as no shipping was to be found to transport more.


AIR FORCE

Pools were empty - planes had been used in all kinds of missions - HBs had been used to pound ground forces and not attrite Airfields in the rear - planes had been lost on escort duties for little gain and the Air-to-Air ratio was 3:1 or worse. Pilot pools were empty. And I am facing Ki-84r Franks, 5-Georges and now A7M2 Sams with nothing but my trusty P-47-25 Thunderbolts in limited numbers...
I needed to find the reason for these results - and quickly got the bottom of things: training squads were training at 80% with no additional pilots and had been sent to the pool with little more than air at 70 - and the rest somewhere in the 40-50s - especially the Def Skill had been overlooked completely.
Pilot shortages occurred in all sectors - especially in key sectors such as Ground, Air-to-Air, ASW, NavS, NavB, NavT, NavAir, etc etc - so basically everywhere - with some of my preferred areas such as LowN for AirArmy planes having been neglected entirely...
So another of my first actions was to start fresh with a completely new pilot training programm - it would take time but for the critical counter offensive I would be able to field the first batch of my new pilots from my own program, and thus far they have not disappointed!
With the counter offensive in planning I would however have to keep my opponent honest and thus opted for a limited air campaign in the only area I could - Burma - Monsoon had not yet started so some progress could be made - and thus I sent in my planes with limited but usually promising success -using tactics only possible in a "no-rules" game to gain favourable results and thus start to equalize the A2A ratio from this point onwards.
while I was in no way able to "hurt" the Japanese plane reserver I quickly made them change tactics, become more defensive in nature and stop doing this like pack 400 planes into one base and forget about night fighters...
only Allied players are allowed to do that

[Nomad]

It will be interesting to see how you do. I was the first person to look at picking up the game, but decided that I really did not have the time it would take.

I wish you luck

[SolInvictus202]

first of all - thanks for the comment Nomad - indeed, I am still unsure of how things will turn out: I have two goals basically: either win by points (which I really do not like) and at least achieve a minor victory by the game's end or I'd also consider myself a winner if I make a successful landing on mainland Japan and actually gain a foothold of significance without losing my entire fleet, army and air force in the process. Let's see.

Phase 1

Phase 1.png (515.9 KiB) Viewed 1885 times

The initial phase of the new command was mostly filled with administrative duties. Aside from the assignment of select squadrons for training purposes, a general restructuring took place all along the front.
ships that had been in port from the beginning of the game were sent to new places. a few losses incurred during this process pointing out that Allied ASW had been dormant for most of the time apparently as well as Japanese Subs were roaming the high seas in all four corners of the map. This needed to be adressed ASAP.

Meanwhile the Air War was ramped up in the Burma area - making sure that losses would be minimized and maximum effect would be achieved. A Ground offensive was organized and massed troops would be used to drive down the road to Akyab. It took a few weeks to amass the troops - to start pounding the entrenched troops and prepare them for destruction. A few weeks of cat and mouse finally showed the Japanese side where the hammer would fall hardest and a few battles later we were able to secure victory at Akyab - the enemy continuously withdrew and gave ground - only 1-2 fights were really costly for the Japanese - but most of the army withdrew back across the river at Akyab intact.
The next move of mine would see the entire army fall back and let the Japanese guess again.

I believe I can safely say that my moves and attempts of hiding my true goals could have been masked a lot better - I know I withdrew from some areas too quickly and in others I made "intel" moves too early. I am unsure of how much my opponent really knew of my intetions as my attacks proved to be successful mostly, but still - I know I could have done a much better job in the "hide and seek" game.


Preparations for Phase 2 began immediately with ships moving troops back and forth behind the scenes. Losses to subs were minimized in due course and the first few ASW, NAvB, NavS 70 pilots soon secured the most vital of sea lanes all over the map. I made some "stupid" mistakes losing some bombers over Burma, just to show interest in bombing useless stuff like the oil fields in Burma - hoping my opponent would believe that my intentions would be to ensure the recapture of Rangoon via Port Blair as my primary targets - recon was intensified over the rear area south of Burma - and some of the new B-29s were used in their very first mission to catch some support ships at Moulmein (I forgot exactly which base , but remember the triomphant smile on my face when I sunk the first Japanese ship in port under my command )

The stage was set for a low key Phase 2 - makeing sure the Japanese only figured it would be a "casual" and "routine" recapture of territory. - this was key to the success of my main attack. Obviously the move would raise some suspicion, but it would be essential that not all of the presumably existing japanese Reserves would be diverted to the sector in question - as the limited shipping would not permit me to bring enough troops to ensure a swift victory.
More in the next post.

[SolInvictus202]

Phase 2

Phase 2.png (519.61 KiB) Viewed 1833 times

With the air war in Burma at least making a show of keeping the Japanese busy, we started withdrawing troops from all over the map to move them to new FUPs for the "main" event.
Evacuating troops from Guadalcanal and the Marshalls, I knew, would give the Japanese smth to think about - especially since my opponent went all in on the historical approach.
Additionally I found the CV Task Forces in dire need of repairs- it looked like at least 2 FULL SPEED dashes before I took over with air groups being shuffled all over the different ships - and worse: replacement squadrons used as combat units on CVLs etc.
so a repair phase of at least 1 month with restructuring of Air Groups was needed as well.
This time would be used for moving troops back into the rear area - as I was still vigilant and did not want to withdraw troops without the cover of my naval air arm in potentially dangerous areas.

Keeping track of the Japanese CVs was nigh impossible at the time as I had no feel for my opponent - so the next operation was rather risky and could have easily gone side wise entirely.

Beginning with Phase 1 I would have 3 months to get back into action, as retasking units would take roughly about 3 months to get the planning to 100%. This meant that I would need to take my "kick-off" objective without proper planning....
And as always - the game engine does not fail to provide: units below 100% are basically all the same - whether you plan for 98 or for 15 - you lose an insane amount of troops due to accidents in any landing - even unopposed.
And thus, over 1000 Allied troops died in landing accidents while storming the beaches of EMPTY Adak Island

I made a massive effort of trying to keep my invasion force of the Aleutians hidden in the fog of war - and to be honest I considered it quite successful that the first glimps the Japanese got must have been a SigInt spike from my CVEs, covering the invasion force about D-Day -4 - and the lost them again until the invasion took place.
I staged them from San Francisco and not Seattle or Prince Rupert, I used only minimal ships and kept them in small task froces in different hexes as to minimize SigInt potential - I made a lot of noise everywhere else with massive, in my viewpoint - useless sweeps to attempt to fix the eye of Sauron on Burma... and apparently it paid off up to the point that the Japanese decided it was not worth contesting the landing - they had given up the Aleutians a while ago apparently- never really reinforced it in the first place - and now left it to be easily recaptured.
it was risky - what if the Jap fleet had anticipated my move and was present in full force... because my main fleet was still at Pearl Harbor repairing its damage....
Time was of the essence however as I needed a working port and airfield as a staging area for phase 3. ....
This last sentence was smth I did ponder on the most before taking over: could I make a move on NE Japan proper without Adak? could I retake it with a smaller TF while making the big invasion itself? I decided against not taking Adak and go down the mroe traditional road... simply to have the fighter staging base to reinforce the hopefully conquered air fields.

a luxury I definitely would not have for all operations in phase 3 - the main diversionary event would not have ANY air bases within reach to stage fighters from - even bombers would barely be able to get there...
so I would need to bring fighters in air transport cargo ships... and unload them in bases without any ports....

but more on that in the next post!

[SolInvictus202]

Phase 3

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This post will be the one of the last two recaps before I am able to share a few combat reports and actual images of the fight. On a different note however: the first A-bomb B-29 unit just arrived on the map.

The initial plan got changed up a few times, as per usual, but generally always stayed the same.

1) Attack the Japanese on two fronts, where no fighting had taken place thus far
2) Attack the Japanese in a place, where it really hurts to get the Allied back in the game
3) Attack the Japanese in a place a mid-long term impact on their economy could be achieved and at least aid the very lopsided war thus far.

How could this be achieved? Through several means and ways of course, all of which I will not be able to mention here - and of which I decided to choose two.

A) The main attack would be aimed at Shakalin and the Kuriles - all available US troops would be landed in one go with ample Support troops to capture 4 key bases: Paramushiro, Onnekotan, Shikuka and Toyohara. With the limited shipping a few priorities would have to be set and I made my choice for Shikuka and Paramushiro. (This choice would slow me down later on, but in the end I can now say it was the right choice)

B) a large diversionary attack on central Sumatra with the main targets of Siberoet, Sipora, Pagai-eilanden and Padang.
the main goal of this attack would be to both attack the Japanese in place they could not overlook completely ( I am looking at the oil here), thus focusing their attention on it while not making it the main event so that this weak invasion force would not be overwhelmed completely. I am still unsure if the attack on the ressources will achieve the impact I wanted it to have, considering the Japanese were able to move ressources from all over the map pretty much unhindered for almost 3 years now - but it is worth the try to limit the availability to hamper rebuilding efforts on Honshu at least in '46.

Let us first take a look at the the diversionary action - my thought process and the issues I would have to overcome.

1) The attack would have to be conducted mostly with non-US troops except a few divisions still station in India (which I was already missing in my planning for the main event.

2) troops available for the invasion were stationed in India and Australia (a port at Albany had to be constructed as the only available staging area - thus giving away a hint at the Japanese on where my next attack would happen. I deliberately let the noise happen here as to make sure he knew I was attacking in the DEI (hoping he would not withdraw and turtle in Japan proper )

3) as mentioned above: no airbases were in range to stage fighters into the landing zones - so all planes would initially have to be brought by ship - either on CVs and then flown off or actually transported by ship - I have a grand total of 4 AKV left on the map - heavy losses had occurred early and no conversions had been undertaken - so I would actually have to transport them in xAKs - which I did... some 400 planes (and I can now prouldy say - not a single one was lost )

4) I would have to divert some of my Naval Air Arm to at least give it the minimum of protection. Therefore one of the first actions I took while preparing to send my first turn back was to move 12 CVEs to Australia - packed mostly with fighters and a few Avengers for ASW. The rest of the Air Cover would have to come from the British. I immediately got to work and found the Naval Air units completely neglected - thus the units had to be enlarged - plane types switched so they would fit on CVs etc - in the end I was able to muster 600 Naval planes altogether including the US CVEs - this would have to do... (and with a proper opposition it would not have been enough... that I am aware of)

5) I would take the bases mentioned above to acquire some interlocking air fields - in theory a great plan - but would I be able to actually build them up? all bases were completely as they were at the beginning of the game - furthermroe intel showed only a token japanese force present in any of them (only Padang was garrisoned in the first place)
So I figured it was worth a try - surprise would be key. Obviously I would not be able to hide my intentions entirely and as mentioned above I did not want to either - but I was also not too keen on seeing the entire fleet in the IO on the bottom of the ocean either....


This also brings up one of my main "personal" issues with the game: I was torn between staying on course with the main event and only treat the Sumatra Operation as a diversion and not wanting to lose the diversionay force either. This made me change invasion dates etc etc a number of times and actually almost made me screw it up entirely..
Luckily for me my invasion force was not spotted until about D-Day -5 (no doubt with a SigInt spike) and the invasion in the North was constantly spotted but I had made sure that I would use "weird" routes as well as keep a constant traffic between Adak and Prince Rupert as to make it a "regular" thing in the first place.

more on my thoughts for the main event aimed at Northern Japan in the next post.

[SolInvictus202]

Phase 3 (Part II):

To understand the main reasoning behind choosing the northern route, one has to look at the general situation I found the game in.

It was mid '44 with only little gains made in CENPAC and SWPAC. China had been taken completely and the Burma front was pretty much a stalemate.
A bold operation would have to be undertaken in an area where defenses had hopefully been somewhat neglected.

I saw only three options: the Philippines, Okinawa or the Kuriles/Shakalin - without going into the reasoning for picking the latter in too much detail - I believe it is safe to say that it was the least risky of the three considering that the entire Japanese Fleet was still intact with only one CV confirmed lost. ( A circumstance which would be rectified due to a lucky coincidence soon after the invasion )


I decided to go all in with this invasion and opted for all Marine Divisions plus all available army divisions with support - getting them all upgraded and ready to go would be the main priority for the entire planning phase - all PPs would go into buying out all available suppport units as well as as many air units as possible - I would be able to muster some 2000 Fighters for this operations as well as most of the land based bombers etc with almost the entire Marine Corps Air Army being present as well.

Landings would happen the following way:

1) the entire fleet would link up around Adak, as by now the secret would be out anyway - but in case air search had been neglected a northern route via the Russian course would be used to approach Paramushiro and Onnekotan Jima.

2) Half the CVEs would remain behind to cover the landings at Paramushiro and Onnekotan while the main bulk of the Fleet would continue westwards to land at Shakalin - and with Shakalin secured then proceed with the landings at Toyohara (the most difficult objective, which would in all likelyhood NOT fall in a direct assault, but would require the movement via land (which would take about a month) from Shakalin.
The main reason for this issue - and the acceptance of the inevitability of it, was the fact that I only had limited shipping available - I was simply unable to find space for another 3000 AV necessary to make a coup de main viable.


Worries and Concerns:

While the main operation will be shown in detail starting with the next post, supported through combat reports and pictures, I believe it is necessary to mention the main thoughts on my mind while executing this move.

1) I would risk my entire Amphib-Shipping with this - if I lost only half of it, it would seriously hamper my next move - probably up to a point that any large scale landing on Hokkaido or Honshu would be impossible until late 45 - thus risking defeat.

2) the Japanese fleet was very much intact - would it be around to attack me in combination with a fully prepared landbased Air Force? I could field some 2000 Naval Planes - but that would not be enough for a combined attack.

3) was my intel correct? was the northern flank really all but undefended? I spent about a week sifting through every single SigInt reported starting in 41. I found only reports of token forces present - a Naval guard here- an Amphib Bde there - nothing above 200 AV in any base in question... could I really be this lucky or would I waste my entire operation on a meat-grinder without any captured bases to support? I would have to attack Onnekotan with little more than ONE Division - again shipping-limits... Paramushiro would get 2 - Shakalin most of the available ones - with Toyohara being assigned the rest.

4) how would I get advanced warning of the Jap fleet approaching? with no air search available until one base was taken? - I recalled ALL but 10 US Subs to Adak and set up a field of Subs around Etorufu stretching south and north - over 80 subs altogether... many of those would die uselessly to air attacks soon enough - but my worry of the Jap fleet showing up in my flank was of great concern to me...
Who knew that I would be able to eliminate over 50% of the threat for little to no losses on my side...

but more on that in the coming posts!

[BBfanboy]

If you could plan on bypassing Paramushiro Jima and neutralizing it instead, you delay the arrival of Japanese reinforcements. Press the 4 key to see the country codes. All of the Kuriles and Sakhalin are country code 101 except PJ - which is code 100 and will trigger the reinforcements. These reinforcements are not strong but they will have time to fill out and get some training before you actually invade the Home Islands, so the longer you delay their arrival the better.

If you ever get air and naval superiority around Japan you will note that the other island close to the four main ones are also code 101. Very handy fighter bases for your B-29 raids later.

[CaptBeefheart]

This is looking very interesting. Best of luck recovering the situation.

Cheers,
CB

[SolInvictus202]

If you could plan on bypassing Paramushiro Jima and neutralizing it instead, you delay the arrival of Japanese reinforcements. Press the 4 key to see the country codes. All of the Kuriles and Sakhalin are country code 101 except PJ - which is code 100 and will trigger the reinforcements. These reinforcements are not strong but they will have time to fill out and get some training before you actually invade the Home Islands, so the longer you delay their arrival the better.

If you ever get air and naval superiority around Japan you will note that the other island close to the four main ones are also code 101. Very handy fighter bases for your B-29 raids later.

thanks for that - I wish I had remembered that when it happened... as it is, I did trigger the reinforcements and I am quite sure those dudes have been training for over a month now, getting used to their bamboo sticks and other similar "anti-tank" weaponry.

[SolInvictus202]

This is looking very interesting. Best of luck recovering the situation.

Cheers,
CB

thanks a lot - indeed, I believe I at least have "equalized" the playing field by now - but I am still far from winning... last turn we finally reached a 2:1 ratio in VPs - which is quite an achievement considering it was 3:1 less than 3/4 of a year ago.

[SolInvictus202]

Aug 8, 1944 - first update with actual pictures from the situation.

With the initial "tension" gone from the operation I finally realized that it might be a good idea to take some screenshots from the actual situation - Aug 8 was quite a while ago in-game - so I doubt any "useful" information could be taken from the pictures I am about to post - if there is - feel free to use them, jdsrae


First a quick look at the New Guinea/ Solomons Area:

Screenshot - 14.03.2022 , 17_28_15.png (678.2 KiB) Viewed 1656 times

As you can see - only the most "basic" of bases have ever been taken - I believe the result of this invasion was the loss of the Allied CVs in late '42. I am not sure but I believe PM had been invaded at some point as well, but was swiftly retaken by the Japanese.
I withdrew all effective combat troops early on and only left a few Sep Inf Rgts to cover my positions. All supply runs have been left unharmed since the beginning so I am well stocked for any "ideas" the Japanese still might get - however unlikely.


India-Burma:

Screenshot - 14.03.2022 , 17_28_06.png (1.69 MiB) Viewed 1656 times

We have been playing cat and mouse for a while now - feint moves, counter moves- a few sweeps and bombardments here and there kept the Japanese busy - but still made them leave without ever having to fight - I didn't want to lose any men unnecessarily in this area - and so I opted for a slower campaign - still achieveing what I wanted to achieve - the reconquest of India and a steady if somewhat slow advance into Burma proper.
by now we have crossed the borders and are at the heals of the ever retreating Japanese....



Now for the main diversionary event: Sumatra

Screenshot - 14.03.2022 , 17_27_57.png (677.64 KiB) Viewed 1656 times

I do not recall specifics, unfortunately, but I do remember the initial landings in all 3 island bases being a complete success - uncontested and the main invasion on Siberoet was strong enough to flip the island without even showing my strenght - it was only about a division worth - but enough support troops to keep a lvl 9 AF rdy after it had been quickly built up - with plenty of supplies to even survive a "siege" for at least 3 months.

the only major "counter-move" was a massive night raid by Japanese bombers... I had fortunately planned for this after no initial counter-move had been spotted - AND moon light was at 100% - for both sides to notice...
I had no night fighters on those CVEs yet - but I assigned a massive amount of my "normal" ones to night cap and it worked like a charm- not a single bomb hit was scored I believe....
again - I took a risk - but I believe it was a calcuable one, considering I still had some 400 Fighters on Day-CAP

As the picture shows, I had around 30 Subs covering the approachings from Oosthaven/Medan as well as in the north Sabang.

Padang was taken D-Day +3 or 4 - once the other bases had been secured I moved in a few hexes closer and took the base on the first attack - Intel had been quite correct and only a small brigade was present - with lvl 3 or 4 forts - so no match for my 1700+ AV - some elite Australian and US troops amongst them. (I placed those deliberately to give some hint as for the "main event" being here after all...

it would be a while until I could use the air force I had brought along to Sumatra - as the bases were completely "undeveloped" - but in time I will be able to do what I came here to do.

While this invasion took place - the main invasion for had already been put to see as well.

Kuriles / Shakalin:

Screenshot - 14.03.2022 , 17_27_45.png (1.17 MiB) Viewed 1656 times

The screenshot shows the day after landings at Paramushiro and Onnekotan had been concluded - and the main covering force had made its way towards Shakalin. Without going into further detail in this picture I believe the extent of my submarines covering the area is clearly depicted.

I forgot to mention early: The day I assumed my invasion forces would be spotted I ordered some 80 B-29s to take off from Adak and smash the AFs of all 4 "northern" shimas - this cost me a few planes as they were unescorted and met a few Georges, Zeroes and Rexes (IIRC) but I believe I still achieved the main goal - shutting down or at least significantly hampering any air operations from those four islands.

One final thing I would like to mention at this point: not a single Naval Air attack was launched against ANY of my invaion forces until I made a move on Toyohara....

EDIT: another picture since the ones I took apparently are no longer shown "large" enough any more...

[SolInvictus202]

Screenshot - 05.05.2022 , 00_59_39.png (521.73 KiB) Viewed 1653 times

[SolInvictus202]

Aug 8th-9th, 1944:

Screenshot - 05.05.2022 , 13_04_14.png (588.57 KiB) Viewed 1624 times

As you can (hopefully) make out on the screenshot above, we managed to land on Shikuka on the 8th and then captured it on the next day during our first attack - I just read through the combat report again and indeed there were a few attempted night air attacks by Frances etc - but not a single one connected.
It is amazing that in general I lost one ship of note, an AGC (Blueridge) in the entire campaign - and nothing else - not a single capital ship was lost - nothing.. a number got damaged - but all are by now safely in repair yards getting ready for the next operation.

Ground combat at Shikuka (126,43)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 43218 troops, 734 guns, 928 vehicles, Assault Value = 2272

Defending force 8091 troops, 81 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 215

Allied engineers reduce fortifications to 4

Allied adjusted assault: 1108

Japanese adjusted defense: 97

Allied assault odds: 11 to 1 (fort level 4)

Allied forces CAPTURE Shikuka !!!

Combat modifiers
Defender: forts(+), disruption(-)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
3400 casualties reported
Squads: 57 destroyed, 155 disabled
Non Combat: 52 destroyed, 28 disabled
Engineers: 55 destroyed, 8 disabled
Guns lost 56 (42 destroyed, 14 disabled)
Units destroyed 1

Allied ground losses:
661 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 46 disabled
Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 13 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 23 disabled

Assaulting units:
2nd Marine Division
1st Marine Division
77th Infantry Division
762nd Tank Battalion
93rd Infantry Division
I Corps Cmbt Engineer Regiment
706th Tank Battalion
131st Combat Engineer Regiment
110th Combat Engineer Battalion
1st USMC Tank Battalion
Fifth US Fleet
Third US Fleet
7th USMC Field Artillery Battalion
3rd Eng Amph Bde
37th Aviation Base Force
1st USMC Field Artillery Battalion
47th Coastal Artillery Regiment
233rd USN Base Force
16th USN Naval Construction Regiment
43rd Aviation Base Force
Thirteenth USAAF
50th Coastal Artillery Regiment
10th USMC Field Artillery Battalion
11th USMC Field Artillery Battalion
47th Aviation Base Force
5201st Eng Con Bde
Sixth US Army
182nd USAAF Base Force
863rd Engineer Aviation Battalion
40th USN Naval Construction Battalion
610th Coast AA Regiment
2nd USN Naval Construction Regiment
27th USN Naval Construction Regiment
XXIV US Corps
36th Aviation Base Force
78th Coast AA Regiment
234th USN Base Force
1881th Engineer Aviation Battalion
34th USN Naval Construction Battalion
189th USAAF Base Force
3rd USMC Field Artillery Battalion
2nd Eng Amph Bde
XI Corps Artillery
XX US Bomber Cmnd

Defending units:
301st Ind.Infantry Battalion
68th Brigade
302nd Ind.Infantry Battalion
303rd Ind.Infantry Battalion
39th Const Co
38th Const Co
83rd JAAF AF Bn

--------------------------

We also took Onnekotan-Jima this turn - after a previous attack last turn - the units present were numerous but proved to lack the firepower to stop our limited troop strength - however Paramushiro would have to wait a few more days (on the 8th an attack just barely failed to make a 1:1 against lvl 6 forts - I decided by that point that I would have any bombardment TFs still rdy with ammunition have another go at the island before withdrawing further east and then take the island - this would give the units a few days of rest, after the intial attacks were promising but yet undecisive.




Ground combat at Onnekotan-jima (136,48)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 16207 troops, 293 guns, 593 vehicles, Assault Value = 518

Defending force 7371 troops, 103 guns, 14 vehicles, Assault Value = 194

Allied adjusted assault: 330

Japanese adjusted defense: 73

Allied assault odds: 4 to 1 (fort level 2)

Allied forces CAPTURE Onnekotan-jima !!!

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), preparation(-), fatigue(-), experience(-)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
1637 casualties reported
Squads: 8 destroyed, 66 disabled
Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 16 disabled
Engineers: 47 destroyed, 3 disabled
Guns lost 50 (24 destroyed, 26 disabled)
Vehicles lost 14 (13 destroyed, 1 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
153 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 22 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 11 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled
Guns lost 7 (1 destroyed, 6 disabled)

Assaulting units:
1st USMC Amphb Tank Battalion
Americal Infantry Division
2nd USMC Tank Battalion
23rd USN Naval Construction Regiment
165th Field Artillery Battalion
223rd Field Artillery Battalion
45th USN Naval Construction Battalion
224th USN Base Force
42nd USN Naval Construction Battalion
842nd Engineer Aviation Battalion
42nd Aviation Base Force
4th RNZAF Base Force
462nd Parachute Field Artillery Battalion
V US Bomber Cmnd

Defending units:
4th Amphibious Brigade
Maizuru 4th SNLF
54th Naval Guard Unit
36th Const Co
54th JNAF AF Unit


---------


Ground combat at Paramushiro-jima (137,47) (August 8th)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 25835 troops, 453 guns, 676 vehicles, Assault Value = 911

Defending force 10008 troops, 128 guns, 20 vehicles, Assault Value = 321

Allied adjusted assault: 329

Japanese adjusted defense: 345

Allied assault odds: 1 to 2 (fort level 6)

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), forts(+), disruption(-), experience(-)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
1087 casualties reported
Squads: 9 destroyed, 101 disabled
Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 12 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled
Guns lost 13 (1 destroyed, 12 disabled)
Vehicles lost 2 (1 destroyed, 1 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
824 casualties reported
Squads: 3 destroyed, 80 disabled
Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 25 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 14 disabled

Assaulting units:
31st Infantry Division
38th Infantry Division
104th Combat Engineer Regiment
4th USMC Tank Battalion
235th USN Base Force
4th Eng Amph Bde
55th Coastal Artillery Battalion
41st Aviation Base Force

Defending units:
53rd Naval Guard Unit
3rd Amphibious Brigade
Maizuru 3rd SNLF
Kitachishima Fortress
31st Road Const Co
53rd JNAF AF Unit

Due to thepresence of the Fort I decided to wait with the unloading of all support units until the island was secured.


Ground combat at Paramushiro-jima (137,47) (August 9th)

Allied Bombardment attack

Attacking force 23420 troops, 467 guns, 534 vehicles, Assault Value = 936

Defending force 9070 troops, 124 guns, 19 vehicles, Assault Value = 237

Japanese ground losses:
36 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled



At the same time we made steady progress in Sumatra, with our advance motorized units pushing the enemy beyond breaking point and dealing another defeat against the retreating units from Padang:

Ground combat at Sawahloento (45,85)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 5041 troops, 167 guns, 404 vehicles, Assault Value = 681

Defending force 2567 troops, 37 guns, 4 vehicles, Assault Value = 43

Allied adjusted assault: 132

Japanese adjusted defense: 49

Allied assault odds: 2 to 1 (fort level 0)

Allied forces CAPTURE Sawahloento !!!

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), preparation(-), fatigue(-), experience(-)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
714 casualties reported
Squads: 26 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 30 destroyed, 5 disabled
Engineers: 3 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 33 (29 destroyed, 4 disabled)
Vehicles lost 4 (4 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units retreated 2

Allied ground losses:
20 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Guns lost 2 (1 destroyed, 1 disabled)

Defeated Japanese Units Retreating!

Assaulting units:
268th Motorised Brigade
637th Tank Destroyer Battalion
24th Infantry Division
34th Combat Engineer Regiment
763rd Tank Battalion
Guides Cavalry Regiment
33rd Medium Regiment
109th Tank Attack Regiment
8th Medium Regiment

Defending units:
21st Ind.Mixed Brigade
3rd Ind. Mountain Gun Regiment


PS: it appears that the pictures I take are too high res for this forum- so I will most likely only take "zoom-ins" from now on and post combat reports (which I personally hate to see in an AAR - as I'd rather read a narrated story and not just highlight the monotonous reports - but I guess this is how it'll have to be for now - unless someone has any suggestions on how to get "better" pictures?

[BBfanboy]

I can read your maps just fine because I have zoomed in my view of the forum and it remembers that setting whenever I return. Others can do so as well by simply pressing [CTRL] + on their keyboard. Make your maps as you have made them and let the viewers adjust their view.

[Nomad]

I can read your maps just fine because I have zoomed in my view of the forum and it remembers that setting whenever I return. Others can do so as well by simply pressing [CTRL] + on their keyboard. Make your maps as you have made them and let the viewers adjust their view.

I agree, I have no problem with your maps, keep doing what you were doing.

[SolInvictus202]

excellent news, guys!

August 10-11:

Screenshot - 18.03.2022 , 01_55_14.png (1.56 MiB) Viewed 1575 times

I was thinking long and hard on how to start the now finally possible strategic bombing campaign in Japan. I wasn't sure how prepared the Japanese would be and with only Shikuka taken and most of the space being occupied with Fighters, in case the Japanese DID finally make a move to shut down the unsinkable aircraft carrier I had to limit my options considerably.
Furthermore I only had a few B-29s left and most of Japan proper was still more than 21 hexes away (which is the Max extended range for B-24Js)

Therefore I opted for two targets initially - and the latter turned out to be the jackpot.
My first target was Harbin - simply because it had one aircraft factory in it and I figured if my opponent put fighters in there at all, he would probably have some training units there. I was of course unsure how he defended Honshu now that it was in strat bombing range - but I would have to find out one way or the other.

Turns out the attack was a complete success and the few bombers I had assigned to the misson flattened the George Factory completely... I remember my opponent writing "That escalated quickly"
A great launch day to a strategic bombing campaign which will most likely last well into '46

Following this I started reconing all over Japan and created a list assigning priorities to all targets available. Of course I cannot disclose said targets and priorities in an open AAR, but it is safe to say that I managed to hit almost all priority 4 targets before I ran out of a sustainable number of B-29s -hopefully hampering Japan's capability of producing next gen fighters specifically (Shinden, Ki-49-II, Me-262s (or their version of it) and Kamikazes - when was the launch day for those again - does anyone know without looking it up?)

Screenshot - 18.03.2022 , 01_55_28.png (124.82 KiB) Viewed 1575 times

Meanwhile the land attacks continued - albeit producing favourable results in Toyohara initially we quickly had to stop attacks as literally NO supply was flowing overland from Shikuka - and thus I would have to send in LCTs to ensure a) enough supplies present for the main attack and b) keep my units in shape until the now available units from Shikuka had made their way over land to Toyohara (I calculated about a month until all would make the trip).

Obviously I would have preferred to take Toyohara more quickly, but as I mentioned earlier it was one of the trade offs I had to accept considering the limits of my shipping etc. In hindseight I could have assigned 2-3 Divisions more to Toyohara but since I had no idea precicely of how many troops were present in Shikuka I opted for the choice of DEFINITELY taking one base instead of propably taking two.

Screenshot - 18.03.2022 , 01_55_37.png (119.42 KiB) Viewed 1575 times

Paramushiro was a completely different situation, since my attacks proved effective despite not gaining 1:1 results - I soon realized that the firepower of the Jap units present was no match for my forces and thus continued to attack to eventually wear them down - Paramushiro was considerably closer to Adak than Shakalin so I could afford a few "losses" without worrying over losing the entire stack...

Screenshot - 18.03.2022 , 01_55_44.png (116.24 KiB) Viewed 1575 times

All the while I wondered when the Japanese would make a move to shut down my invasion... I mean once Shikuka turned lvl 9 it would basically be over for the Japan... when would the BBs come knocking at the door? when would KB protected by 2000 landbased fighters make a move on my shipping lanes?

More on that in the next post

[SolInvictus202]

August 10-11 Part II:


The second target that was picked was Hiroshima/Kure. Why? Several reasons to be honest.
1) Everyone knows Hiroshima, so I wanted to make a statement that Japan now is no longer safe.
2) I wanted to show my opponent how far "west" I could touch him in Japan to ensure him spreading out fighters everywhere and make subsequent bombing a little more feasable
3) If I am not mistaken it is one of the largest, if not THE largest repairyard in Japan - without checking - I may be wrong but in the moment I ordered the raid I distinctly remember this being the driving force.



Do you all remember when I wrote that no real Japanese counter to my invasion was organized? KB didn't show up in my flank although I was worried? Had I known the reason for it I could have invaded Formosa at the same time as well I guess....


Turns out most of the Jap CVs were in port - undergoing their 08/44 upgrades.... and guess which port they were in doing so?

Of course I would like to argue that it was brilliant planning on my behalf to time my invasion perfectly and have read my opponent so brilliantly as to have known he would actually undertake the 08/44 upgrades at all, and go one step further and claim that I knew he would do so in Hiroshima...

but no... it was just sheer, dumb luck unfortunately....

Screenshot - 18.03.2022 , 16_03_41.png (1.42 MiB) Viewed 1550 times

the cut off section of my screenshot shows that recon spotted a grand total of 58 fighters covering Hiroshima ship yards... and those apparently missed the radar intel provided - or not - to intercept my B-29s in time... there weren't many bombers - but obviously B-29s have the best pilots there are in their squads... 70-75 ground bombing rating at least....

and these were the results of probably the luckiest strike I ever had in my long years of WITP AE service...

Raid #1

Morning Air attack on Hiroshima/Kure , at 106,58

Weather in hex: Light rain

Raid spotted at 20 NM, estimated altitude 12,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 6 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M8 Zero x 27

Allied aircraft
B-29-1 Superfort x 17

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
B-29-1 Superfort: 6 damaged

Japanese Ships
CV Hiryu, Bomb hits 4, on fire, heavy damage
CV Zuikaku, Bomb hits 6, on fire
CV Shokaku, Bomb hits 7, on fire
CV Hiyo, Bomb hits 5, heavy fires, heavy damage
CV Kaga, Bomb hits 2
CV Soryu, Bomb hits 5, heavy fires, heavy damage

Repair Shipyard hits 3
Port hits 5

Aircraft Attacking:
6 x B-29-1 Superfort bombing from 8000 feet *
Port Attack: 10 x 500 lb GP Bomb
4 x B-29-1 Superfort bombing from 8000 feet *
Port Attack: 10 x 500 lb GP Bomb
3 x B-29-1 Superfort bombing from 8000 feet *
Port Attack: 10 x 500 lb GP Bomb
1 x B-29-1 Superfort bombing from 8000 feet *
Port Attack: 10 x 500 lb GP Bomb
3 x B-29-1 Superfort bombing from 8000 feet *
City Attack: 10 x 500 lb GP Bomb

CAP engaged:
331 Ku S-1 with A6M8 Zero (3 airborne, 6 on standby, 0 scrambling)
3 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 11000
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 8 minutes
332 Ku S-1 with A6M8 Zero (6 airborne, 12 on standby, 0 scrambling)
6 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 9000
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 8 minutes

Ammo storage explosion on CV Soryu
Ammo storage explosion on CV Hiyo


----------------------

Raid #2

Morning Air attack on Hiroshima/Kure , at 106,58

Weather in hex: Light rain

Raid spotted at 17 NM, estimated altitude 8,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 5 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M8 Zero x 26

Allied aircraft
B-29-1 Superfort x 4

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
B-29-1 Superfort: 2 damaged

Japanese Ships
CV Zuikaku, Bomb hits 1, on fire
CV Shokaku, Bomb hits 1, on fire
CV Hiryu, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage

Port hits 2
Port fuel hits 1

Aircraft Attacking:
2 x B-29-1 Superfort bombing from 8000 feet *
Port Attack: 10 x 500 lb GP Bomb
2 x B-29-1 Superfort bombing from 8000 feet *
Port Attack: 10 x 500 lb GP Bomb

CAP engaged:
331 Ku S-1 with A6M8 Zero (3 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
3 plane(s) intercepting now.
5 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 11000 , scrambling fighters to 8000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 19 minutes
332 Ku S-1 with A6M8 Zero (15 airborne, 3 on standby, 0 scrambling)
15 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 9000
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 8 minutes



-------


what can you say - I actually wrote an email to my opponent apologizing for the raid - as I actually wanted to sink KB at sea in a good old-fashion CV on CV action...
but I guess in the grander scheme of things it is not that important - as he can focus on his land bases now....

it was later confirmed that one carrier was sunk in the initial raid... I decided NOT to follow on with another raid the next day - but rather waited for a few weeks - I was both torn between having another go at the JApanese misfortune and making the honorable choice and giving the CVs an opportunity to repair...

How it all turned out we'll see in a future post - but I admit outright - when I received the first message 3 days later that a carrier had been sunk I simply could not resist to make the others go away as well - or at least try to...
therre it is... honourable until given a choice to rub it in...

[anarchyintheuk]

Lucky and good is a great combination

[SolInvictus202]

this just in: my response to jsdrae's september 22 turn:

you sunk a PC of mine... unacceptable... the fires of eternal damnation shall rain down apocalypse on you for this heresy!



PS: yes, I do read a little 40k now and then