KDonovan vs Miller41 Scenario 13-Nik Mod 5.0 (Allies)

[Rob Brennan UK]

WOW .. how did you do that screenshot ??

don't forget he's disrupted badly from landing . but i guess you are too.

fingers crossed but darwin does look doomed

[KDonovan]

WOW .. how did you do that screenshot ??

combination of cutting, pasting, MS paint, and absense of wife nagging me about how much i play this game [:D]

[KDonovan]

slow days....

Aug. 15th/Aug 16th - my daily night-bombing attacks on Mandalay with my Beaufighter's scored their 4th hit on the ground thus far, taking out an Oscar (looks like they are averaging 1 destroyed plane a month...too bad their ops loss's are higher than that). Meanwhile the Japanese continued to hit Changsha hard from the air, but this time it came at a small price as a Helen was shot down.

Over in the Darwin theatre, my Aus Cav Div attacked that isolated SNLF unit and easily pushed it back 60 miles with the Aus Tank Rgt in hot pursuit. The japanese retaliated with a decent size air raid (out of Whydam) on Darwin itself. Damage was light and it cost the Japanese 2 Betties.

Lastly the SS Drum spotted a lonely troop transport just south of Toyko, but as expected her torps failed to detonate.

Aug 17th/Aug 18th - China was active yet again with more raids on Changsha. However, the big news out of that theatre was the japanese attempt to dislodge chinese forces from Nanning, resulting in heavy causalites to the japs.

Back over at Darwin, the japanese continued to hit the australians from the air, but yet again only minor damage was done, and 2 Helen's were shot down by AAA. Meanwhile, my Aus Tank Rgt was able to attack the disorganized SNLF unit and drive it back another 60 miles.

Plan - I've decided to send some more reinforcements to Derby, on the order of another brigade. That should force miller to either bring in another Div from the outside, or use one of the 3 div's he has at Darwin...hopefully its the latter as i can spring a nice trap on him [:D]. Also a major air raid comprising of 160 B25's and B17's from Derby will hit Whydam tommorrow. That should use up precious supply, as he has to ship it in from the DEI.

Meanwhile plan's for the invasion of Andaman Is (operation NOVA) continue. D-Day is looking to be in about 1 week.

Lastly, intel reported that the Japanese are planning an attack on both Changsha and Homan, so it appears that a center thrust is the japanese plan of attack. So the land war in China may start to heat up anytime now.

[KDonovan]

another slow turn....

Aug 19th/20th - my raid on Wyndham was a mild success as a mix bag of 126 B17's/B25's attack the airbase, causing moderate damage, destroying 6 planes on the ground, and losing 4 B25's of their own. Elswhere the Japanese continued to hit Changsha hard, losing a Helen in the process.

Plan - Operation NOVA (invasion of Andaman Is.) will commence tommorrow. The 1st phase of the attack will include heavy air attacks on Burma from India. To lead the attack will be a massive two day fighter sweep of Mandalay from Impal (weather permitting). This sweep will include 130 P40's and 110 Hurricanes. After this initial sweep to achieve air superiority, air strikes by LB-30's, Wellingtons, Beauforts, Hurricanes, and even IL-4's will pound the Mandalay and surrounding airbase's around the clock. Meanwhile 3 Burma Bde's will cross the border from Imphal, Kohima, and Ledo to fient the japanese into thinking a major burma invasion is underway. Over at the naval base's of Ceylon, a bombardment TF under the flagship HMS Valiant, departed under the cover of thunderstorms on a mission to hit shore installations on Andaman Is 3 days from now. The invasion TF, to follow, will arrive in about 6 days.

Elsewhere, over in the Darwin theatre, my bombers out of Derby will continue to hit Whydam airfield.

[Rob Brennan UK]

sounds like a good plan in burma ! .. im an RAF fanboy at heart

[KDonovan]

thanks rob...i sure hope this is a good plan, as its my first offensive undertaking in any PBEM game

Aug 21st - not much action in India, as heavy thunderstorms prevented any air missions from being launched. However there was some action near Darwin, as 120 B-17's/B-25's hit Wyndham again destroying 13 planes on the ground, while losing 6 B-25's. In retaliation the Japanese launched another assualt on the fortifications near Darwin, but were somehow repelled despite heavy casualties on the allied side.

Aug 22nd - the day started off with the SS Triton located near the Bonin Is. spotting the AK Katsukawa Maru. The captain was able to get a clear shot, and slammed 2 torpedos into the ship, breaking it's back.

Over at Imphal weather cleared up enough to allow the massive fighter sweep mission of Mandalay to proceed. 210 fighters participated in the mission, in which they encounter a pathetic 23 plane CAP. Needless to say the entire jap force was wiped out, with only 2 P40B's and 1 Hurricane shot down.

Meanwhile, in the Darwin theatre, my bomber's out of Derby hit Wyndham for the 4th day in the row, destroying 7 more planes on the ground, while losing only 1 B-25.

Plan - Operation NOVA continues. This turn, transports carrying 16,500 troops of the 20th Indian Inf Div and 29th UK Bde with supporting artillery and combat engineers departed Madres enroute to Andaman Is. Due to pressure from Churchill, the invasion force is only 50% prepped for the mission. Churchill was quoted as saying "commander, what's the point of keeping 6 of her majesties battleships in the far east if you are not going to use them. You better show Britain solidarity with our conquered allies or lose your ships." On the heels of the assault force are several support units which will quickly establish an airbase to provide fighter cover. Also accompanying the force is the 23rd Indian Div which will act as a floating reserve. The carriers Formidable and Illustrious will provide the necessary fighter cover. Meanwhile the BB Valiant lead bombardment TF will hit Andaman Is tommorrow.

Over at Burma, the suppression of Mandalay will continue as another large fighter sweep will hit the airbase, along with LB-30s/Wellingtons from Calcutta, Beauforts/Hurricanes from Kohima, and IL-4's from Chungking.

Meanwhile at Derby, my bomber's will rest this turn as 4 days on continues ops has put a stress on man and machine.

Also i forgot to add this to previous posts, but over the last 4 days, 2 AP's and 1 PG sank the result of 500lbs bomb hits and a 9.2in gun hit respectively from over a week ago.

[KDonovan]

Aug 23rd/24th - due to a combination of factors, my bombardment TF failed to hit Andaman Is. The admirality cited heavy seas, poor visibilty, uncharted reefs, and lessons learned from the N.Carolina incident as reasons to forgoe the mission (in reality i forgot to change it from "surface" TF to "bombardment"). Regardless the following morning saw another fighter sweep of Mandalay airbase, in which the 13 plane japanese CAP was easily wiped out by a superior force. Only 1 hurricane was lost in the battle. On the heels of this mission was wave after wave of bombers/fighter bombers which saw the complete destruction of the airbase over the next 2 days. In total 20 japanese planes were destroyed on the ground, and major damage was done to the airfield at Mandalay.

In other news my pathetic ASW forces encountered another I-boat off the coast of Cairns. But once again, the sub got the better of them as the captain was able to slam a torpedo into one of the MSW's, sinking it. I have now lost 3 MSW's in ASW missions.

Plan - despite the aborted bombardment mission, the invasion of Andaman Is will go as plan with D-Day set on Aug 26th.

Meanwhile over in the quiet central pacific i've departed a 3 BB bombardment TF to hit Wake Is in about a week.

Lastly, my Aus Tank Rgt will engage that SNLF unit that keeps hanging around the railroads near Darwin. Also a recon flight of Wyndham revealed that the runway hasn't been repaired from the heavy air attacks 2 days ago. I wonder if Miller has run out of supply, or whether he forgot to bring engineers. Either way, the 45% damaged runway won't be supporting any ops anytime soon.


Aug 25th - the quiet before the storm over in the indian theatre, as my invasion TF's continued to plow towards Andaman Is, and Burma remained quiet as there was no more targets to hit.

On the other hand, over near Darwin, the Japanese attempted another assault on the town, but were quickly repulsed. Also my engineers managed to build my fortifications back up to level 2 which will further give the japanese a headache. Lastly my Aus Tank Rgt, successfully pushed the SNLF unit off the rail line, and into the desert. Hope they brought there water.

Aug 26th - the day started with a successful surface attack on a troop transport by the SS Pollack near the Marshall Is. The captian managed to pump five 4in shells into the ship and also added a torpedo hit to the carnage. No confirmation yet of its sinking.

Meanwhile as daylight broke over Andaman Is, elements of the 20th Ind Div and 29th UK Bde stormed ashore. Despite a Japanese bombardment of the invasion beaches, casualties were light. Around noon the japanese responded with airstrikes from Ragoon comprised of about 20 Sally's and 30 Helen's. My Seafire's were flying CAP at the time and managed to shoot down 4 bombers, but most were able to get through scoring 1 bomb hit on a transport, and 4 bomb hits on a MSW. The MSW was later abandoned a scuttled. In the late afternoon, my forces on the island launched there intial assualt on the Japanese defenders and were able to capture the crucial airfield, where 14 zero's and 3 recon planes were captured.

Plan - my follow up support units will land at Andaman Is. next turn to bring the airfield up to UK standards and remove any booby traps so that my fighters from India can be transferred to provide land base CAP. Meanwhile my carriers will remain in the area to provide as much carrier-based CAP as possible. Also i've decided to send the HMS Valient lead bombardment group on a mission to hit Ragoon.

Meanwhile over near the Gilberts an unidentified ship was spotted near Tarawa. Looking for an easy kill, i've dispatch the Saratoga, Enterprise, and Hornet from Canton Is. on a high speed run to try and intercept the ship. Could be a trap now that i think about it. Maybe i shouldn't have sent that turn after a night out drinking with the guys. Oh well.

[KDonovan]

Aug 27th - Japan launched a series of attacks from Rangoon on the appoaching Bombardment TF, but failed to hit anything and lost 2 bombers in the process. Meanwhile an assault on the Japanese line of defense at Andaman Is failed to yeild any results.

Aug 28th - Japan launched another air attack from Rangoon, but this time it was on the invasion TF. The Seafires on CAP were able to down 8 bombers, but the intruders were able to score bomb hits on a gunboat and 2 transports.

Meanwhile my carrier task force spotted than "unknown" ship near Tarawa, which turned out to be a lone transport. Needless to say it was pounded with eleven 1000lbs hits and quickly sunk.

Plan - intel indicates that the japanese may have moved in air reinforcements into Mandalay, therefore all air assets in the area are being directed to take them out.

meanwhile the bombardment of Wake Is will commence tommorrow.

[KDonovan]

Aug 29th (my birthday) - the day started with a successful bombardment of Wake Is causing moderate damage to port and airfield facilities. Over in Burma, all my air attacks went in as plan, but the intel from yesterday was wrong, as there wasn't any new air units in Mandalay. Major damage was done to the airfield though, and 1 Helen was destroyed. Nearby, the Japanese launched more raids from Rangoon on the Andaman Is invasion TF. They were met though by fierst air resistance from newly arrived Hurricanes and P40B's from the mainland. In the end 5 Zeros and 13 bombers were shot down, with only 2 hurricane losses. On the island itself, the British and her allies launched another assault on the remaining defenders, and were able to push them back to the far north corner.

Meanwhile in the Darwin theatre, my B17's out of Derby hit Koepang causing moderate damage to the airfield and knocking out a recon plane on the ground.

Aug 30th - having been noting this but lately the japanese have been hiting chinese soldiers in and around Changsha with heavy air raids, and today was no exception to that. No physical evidence though (ie troop movements) that a major offensive is eminent.

Back at Andaman Is, more japanese air attacks failed to hit anything, and cost them 8 more bombers and 4 zeros. In an act of desperation the remaining japanese on the island (1000 in all), charged the british front line's in a banzai attack. Well dug in, the british easily massacred the charging japs. Afterwards the island was declared secured.

Plan - with Andaman Is secure, now begins the process of bringing the airfield up to a level so that it can handle Wellington bombers. Also fortifications will be errected inorder to throw back any japanese counterattack invasion.

My next objective in the Indian theatre is the acquisition of Akyab. Intel reports that there is few if any japanese troops located at the base. Therefore a british armored scout rgt will be sent to investigate. If the recon force can secure the base then BF's and troops will be flown in. The goal is to build up the base so that fighters can easily sweep the sky's of Rangoon and bombers from Calcutta and Andaman Is can neutralize that base. This will allow future naval offensive to proceed without beign interdicted by Betties.

[KDonovan]

slow turn....

Aug 31st/Sept 1st - not much to report this turn. More japanese raids in China, and more allied raids in Burma (destroyed 2 more Helens).

Plan - i'm calling off my air raids in Burma as last weeks continous ops are putting a strain on the aircraft and crews. Doesn't really matter, as 88% of Mandalays airfield is destroyed, and it won't be repaired anytime soon. Nearby, intel has reported a massive increase in air activity around Rangoon, indicating a large reinforcement of bombers to the base. I'm therefore departing a small CA TF that i had left as a screening force at Andaman Is, to protect the transports. So now the transports will be on their own, with only land based fighter cover to protect them. All the troops are ashore, but much needed supply and fuel needs to be brought in.

Elsewhere in China i'm planning a flanking move to break the stalement near Nanning. As of now 70,000 chinese troops are stalemated with 60,000 japanese troops. The plan is to move 15,000 chinese reinforcements to Pakhoi which intel reports is lightly defended. The plan is, that once captured, supply to Nanning will be cut off, thereby decreasing the effective ness of the japanese troops in Nanning.

Here's a screen shot of the situation in China






Also forgot to mention, Churchill was again in my ear. Despite being pleased with the operation to take Andaman Is, he states he still needs a Battleship from me. He said something about invading vichy africa in a month or so....or something to that effect and needs the extra warship. Being that i'm in a good mood, i'll be happy to supply him an outdated R-class battleship.

[KDonovan]

I've decided to put maps up by theatre with some info on my distribution of forces...since China was done on my last post...here's India, with more to come

[KDonovan]

here's NW-Australia

[KDonovan]

here's Coreal Sea area.....

[KDonovan]

here's the south pacfic....

[KDonovan]

Gilbert area....

[KDonovan]

Central Pacific....

[KDonovan]

finally the last...north pacific

[Rob Brennan UK]

Purdy Pictures [:D]..

WOW .. thats a lot of information .. All looks pretty secure , apart from darwin. but now the roads open it will help a lot.

I'm suprised Tarawa is still only level 1 .. another oddity from a may start ( yes i know its historical ). but also a priority for japan to build it up.

[saj42]

Yep those Aussie MSWs get whipped by the I-boats until their experience picks up (it says so in the manual [:D]).

[KDonovan]

I'm suprised Tarawa is still only level 1 .. another oddity from a may start ( yes i know its historical ). but also a priority for japan to build it up.

Yeah i thought the same thing also. He also did it with Lunga, which is only at Lvl 2 AF and he's own that island since May. And he did it with Wake Is, which has been stuck on Lvl 3 AF. I guess Miller figures that those are the most likely area's of my counterattack, and he didn't want to do me the favor of building a B-17 ready airstrip once i take it. I can surmise that those areas are probably lvl 9 forts then, since those Construction Rgt's have to be doing something.