Well as Dan graciously mentioned our game in his AAR I thought I may as well keep some interest alive in this forum and give the story so far from my point of view....
Playing Scn 19 with me as IJN and 140 - 100 commitment levels.
Basically for the first 3 months nothing happened other than my taking of Port Moresby in the face of little opposition, neither of us lost more than a dozen ships each and nothing bigger than a DD. Then came August and things heated up considerably....
I was toying with the idea of invading Luganville when my Recon indicated several CV's and transport fleets there...obviously he had anticipated my move and was getting in troops to repel any invasion attempt. So I sent in the full weight of the KB (7CV plus 3CVL) ahead of my own invasion fleet. The resulting carrier battle saw Dan lose 3 CV's without loss to myself (his planes did not even launch but even if they had I doubt they would have made a dent against 250 fresh Zeros on CAP!)
However his transports got off all their troops and retired without taking much damage although he lost several CA/DD to the KB and land based Betty's. I lost the BB Mutsu and Dan a few more CA's in a vicious night battle. My invasion fleet unloaded and departed relatively unscathed but I had not sent enough troops to do the job, he had roughly the same number as me so it was obvious I would not take it without another large invasion force.
Meanwhile I sent a FT fleet to drop a regiment off at Etafe but again I did not have enough men on the ground and they were soon eliminated. The KB hung around in the hope of catching the remainder of his CV's or a surface task force fleet but burned fuel in vain. When his LBA hit two of my carriers putting them out of the war until 43 I knew it was time to withdraw to Shortlands....
So now my dillema was do I throw more troops into Luganville or evacuate? I choose the latter, as his LBA aircraft strength was building steadily and I knew it would get messy with little hope of getting enough men ashore without taking unacceptable losses...
I ran several FT runs into Luganville to pick up the troops there but they ran into a strong surface force including Washington and several of the deadly modern 6 inch cruisers. These FT runs cost me 5 CA's (most damaged and finished off by LBA the next day) a couple of CL's and approx 20 DD's. Luckily my Bettys and Nells from Lunga evened the score by eliminating Washington and most of her cohorts the next day. All told I lost around 30 AP's during the Luganville operation - the majority small 1000k capacity.
His land attacks at Luganville forced my troops to retreat north where I managed to recover most of them without further loss. All along it had been my intention to bring his CV's into battle, taking Luganville was secondary...but after Dan lost his 3 CV's he played it safe (and smart) not risking the remainder.
So fast forward to now, 1 Nov 42. He holds Luganville and my recon tells me he is steadily building up his forces there for the inevitable push in 43. In previous games I would have went for an autovictory somewhere but experience tells me this is a no-hoper now. He is too well dug in at Luganville and all the Aus auto-victory hexes are graveyards for IJN troops, impossible to supply. So now I have no choice other than to dig in and go for a points victory.
It will be hard but I am confident. As it stands I am 5000 points ahead. He holds nothing north of Luganville, I have Irau and Nevea, both well stocked with troops and supplies. Likewise PM, GG and Dobadura on New Guinea are building up nicely. Lunga is well stocked with twin engined types ready to blast his invasion fleets. My trump card however is the KB.....largely untouched and ready to go!
I am under no illusions however, if I were a betting man I would bet on Dan to have more points than me on 31 Dec 43. His P38's are starting to appear and LBA are already hitting Nevea. But he cannot wait for ever. If he leaves it too late he will not have time to capture enough bases to claw back the point deficit.
I will update this thread now and again to let anyone interested know how the fight is progressing.....
Canoerebel v Miller Scn 19
RE: Canoerebel v Miller Scn 19
I will do bi-monthly (gametime) updates, so this covers the period 1-15 Nov 42.
Well Dan continues his build up on Luganville and landed at Wunpuko a couple of hexes north. I sent a bombardment fleet there to see if they could catch any transports but found only mines[:@] Yamato wore one as did a DD which will have to return to Tokyo.
The KB fared better, sinking a fleet of 5 APD's, it hung around but he wisely kept his planes grounded and ships in port. A stike against Luganville airfield achieved little and cost 10 precious Vals, i will not make the mistake of using carrier aircraft to attack bases again!
However I was happier when he sent a large twin-engined strike to Nevea. The 50 or so Zeros and Oscars on CAP performed superbly....downing 30[:)] of the Yankee intruders. He has not sent any more stikes since other than small B17 raids against Irau and Nevea which are starting to hit supply levels...
I continue to fortify all my front line bases and every AP in theatre is working overtime, but I doubt he will start the comeback until at least Jan 43 as I outnumber in 3:1 in carriers at the moment.
Total ship losses to date:
IJN - 1 BB, 5 CA, 2 CL, 26 DD, 5 APD, 2 AV, 8 SS, 9 PC/PG/MSW, 28 AP.
USN- 3 CV, 1 CVE, 1 BB, 6 CA, 6 CL, 37 DD, 5 APD, 2 AV, 2 SS, 14 SC/PT, 6 AP, 1 AO.
Next update hopefully in a week or so.
Well Dan continues his build up on Luganville and landed at Wunpuko a couple of hexes north. I sent a bombardment fleet there to see if they could catch any transports but found only mines[:@] Yamato wore one as did a DD which will have to return to Tokyo.
The KB fared better, sinking a fleet of 5 APD's, it hung around but he wisely kept his planes grounded and ships in port. A stike against Luganville airfield achieved little and cost 10 precious Vals, i will not make the mistake of using carrier aircraft to attack bases again!
However I was happier when he sent a large twin-engined strike to Nevea. The 50 or so Zeros and Oscars on CAP performed superbly....downing 30[:)] of the Yankee intruders. He has not sent any more stikes since other than small B17 raids against Irau and Nevea which are starting to hit supply levels...
I continue to fortify all my front line bases and every AP in theatre is working overtime, but I doubt he will start the comeback until at least Jan 43 as I outnumber in 3:1 in carriers at the moment.
Total ship losses to date:
IJN - 1 BB, 5 CA, 2 CL, 26 DD, 5 APD, 2 AV, 8 SS, 9 PC/PG/MSW, 28 AP.
USN- 3 CV, 1 CVE, 1 BB, 6 CA, 6 CL, 37 DD, 5 APD, 2 AV, 2 SS, 14 SC/PT, 6 AP, 1 AO.
Next update hopefully in a week or so.
RE: Canoerebel v Miller Scn 19
Update for 16-30 Nov 42.
Not much to report.
Sent a Betty strike against his massed transports unloading at Luganville, got a few hits on AP/AO's but I doubt any will sink and the Zero escort suffered heavily against the CAP, I think I will save my strength for his invasion fleets from now on.
Lost my first 3000 capacity AP to a sub[:(]
A raid of about 40 B17's hit Lunga port and got hits on several CA/CL based there, I won't lose any but a few have returned to Tokyo for repairs[:@]
Better news near the end of the month however. I sent a couple of large Zero sweeps against Luganville which manged to shoot down 60 or so Yankee air pirates for the loss of 20....just reminding Dan as to who has air superiority at the minute[:-] whilst thinning out his air cover for his invasion fleets.
I am itching to unleash the KB but I know as soon as they are spotted Dan will ground his aircraft and put his ships in port....they will get their chance sooner or later!
Just a question of waiting now for the inevitable....stay tuned!
Not much to report.
Sent a Betty strike against his massed transports unloading at Luganville, got a few hits on AP/AO's but I doubt any will sink and the Zero escort suffered heavily against the CAP, I think I will save my strength for his invasion fleets from now on.
Lost my first 3000 capacity AP to a sub[:(]
A raid of about 40 B17's hit Lunga port and got hits on several CA/CL based there, I won't lose any but a few have returned to Tokyo for repairs[:@]
Better news near the end of the month however. I sent a couple of large Zero sweeps against Luganville which manged to shoot down 60 or so Yankee air pirates for the loss of 20....just reminding Dan as to who has air superiority at the minute[:-] whilst thinning out his air cover for his invasion fleets.
I am itching to unleash the KB but I know as soon as they are spotted Dan will ground his aircraft and put his ships in port....they will get their chance sooner or later!
Just a question of waiting now for the inevitable....stay tuned!
RE: Canoerebel v Miller Scn 19
Update for 1-15 Dec 42.
I did a couple more sweeps of Luganville, enjoying a 3:1 kill ratio but operational losses were heavy, making further sweeps unprofitable it seems.
I also tried a large raid on Luganville port to try and whittle down the supplies Dan is stockpiling there. About 150 Betties/Nells managed a pitiful single supply hit[:(] and took further op losses. I have lost more a/c to this cause than all others put together[X(]
Dan only launched a couple of raids himself, a port strike by B17s on Lunga that caused little damage but also a large twin-engined and B17 strike on Nevea that destroyed 20 fighters on the ground as well as putting the airfield out of action for a day. Fortunately I have plenty of engineer units at my forward bases to get them up and running as soon as possible after heavy raids.
On the ground I have just about got all my infantry units where I want them to be, my AP's are still busy shuttling supplies to and from Truk. No matter where Dan decides to strike first he will have a hard job getting a good foothold before the KB is in a position to eliminate his transports. Unless he scrapes up every APD/DD he can find he will not be able to use his fast transport fleets to any effect.
I am worried about my fighter units however. Having to maintain a constant CAP over every base (despite rotating) is causing op losses and morale hit. Most land based Zero units are now down to low 60's exp whilst his P38 fleet is growing....I am toying with the idea of throwing in some of my elite carrier based units to lighten the load, we shall see how the next few weeks develops[:-]
Points difference remains a steady 5000, I doubt it will grow any bigger[8|]
I did a couple more sweeps of Luganville, enjoying a 3:1 kill ratio but operational losses were heavy, making further sweeps unprofitable it seems.
I also tried a large raid on Luganville port to try and whittle down the supplies Dan is stockpiling there. About 150 Betties/Nells managed a pitiful single supply hit[:(] and took further op losses. I have lost more a/c to this cause than all others put together[X(]
Dan only launched a couple of raids himself, a port strike by B17s on Lunga that caused little damage but also a large twin-engined and B17 strike on Nevea that destroyed 20 fighters on the ground as well as putting the airfield out of action for a day. Fortunately I have plenty of engineer units at my forward bases to get them up and running as soon as possible after heavy raids.
On the ground I have just about got all my infantry units where I want them to be, my AP's are still busy shuttling supplies to and from Truk. No matter where Dan decides to strike first he will have a hard job getting a good foothold before the KB is in a position to eliminate his transports. Unless he scrapes up every APD/DD he can find he will not be able to use his fast transport fleets to any effect.
I am worried about my fighter units however. Having to maintain a constant CAP over every base (despite rotating) is causing op losses and morale hit. Most land based Zero units are now down to low 60's exp whilst his P38 fleet is growing....I am toying with the idea of throwing in some of my elite carrier based units to lighten the load, we shall see how the next few weeks develops[:-]
Points difference remains a steady 5000, I doubt it will grow any bigger[8|]
RE: Canoerebel v Miller Scn 19
Update for 16-31 Dec 42.
The wait for Dan's invasion fleets continues. Lots of bad weather over this period so little air action. It seems like he is concentrating all his bombers on Nevea at the moment so I assume this is where he will eventually start the comback trail, having hit it a fair few times in the last fortnight.
A small surface force of half a dozen DD's did catch one of my supply convoys off Nevea and sank a transport and a couple of small escorts...I may resort to using barges to supply from now on as they are expendable[;)] Also lost a few AP's and barges to Dan's subs but I had to smile when one of my barges sank a sub[:D]
I feel Dan has to start the comeback this month otherwise he will leave himself with too much to do to claw back the points deficit. We shall see....
The wait for Dan's invasion fleets continues. Lots of bad weather over this period so little air action. It seems like he is concentrating all his bombers on Nevea at the moment so I assume this is where he will eventually start the comback trail, having hit it a fair few times in the last fortnight.
A small surface force of half a dozen DD's did catch one of my supply convoys off Nevea and sank a transport and a couple of small escorts...I may resort to using barges to supply from now on as they are expendable[;)] Also lost a few AP's and barges to Dan's subs but I had to smile when one of my barges sank a sub[:D]
I feel Dan has to start the comeback this month otherwise he will leave himself with too much to do to claw back the points deficit. We shall see....
The eve of battle.....
Update for 1-15 Jan 43.
Well Dan has finally tipped his hand....
Port Moresby has been pounded every other day by his heavies, permanently closing the airfield. Likewise Nevea has been hard hit by twin engined a/c but the engineers there usually get the strip up and running by the next day. The increased bombing only meant one thing - invasion imminent!
My recon spotted a lot of ships about 10 hexes south of PM, I was unsure as to whether this was a serious invasion force or a decoy. Therefore I sent a small CV taskforce (2CV, 1CVL) and a surface fleet towards the area to see what was going on...
Turns out my suspicions were right, Dan withdrew these ships towards Aus as soon as my fleets were sighted.......meanwhile a huge invasion fleet covered by his CV's was sighted only a fex hexes south of Nevea[X(] I assume bad weather helped to hide it from my recon.
I have sent everything that floats towards the area. The main KB consisting of 5CV + 2CVL with a total of 400 a/c. Two surface fleets each with 2 BB's and plenty of escorts ready to hit the invasion fleets, with a third being diverted to the area along with the mini KB. I have about 200 twin engined types on Lunga and Irau ready to go.
I estimate I am facing his 3 surviving CV's and perhaps 3-4 CVE's - about 380 a/c? He also has plenty of land based a/c to call on. I assume he has also thrown in every warship he has left including a couple of 16" fast BB's....I wish I had my 18" BB's available, both are at Truk recovering from damage[8|]
So as it stands at 15 Jan 43 his invasion fleet is one hex south of Nevea and all my forces are ready to strike. I will be happy to trade CV for CV as long as I can smash whats left of his fleet and halt the comeback.
Weather permitting, tomorrow will be the day the war is either won or lost[&o]
Well Dan has finally tipped his hand....
Port Moresby has been pounded every other day by his heavies, permanently closing the airfield. Likewise Nevea has been hard hit by twin engined a/c but the engineers there usually get the strip up and running by the next day. The increased bombing only meant one thing - invasion imminent!
My recon spotted a lot of ships about 10 hexes south of PM, I was unsure as to whether this was a serious invasion force or a decoy. Therefore I sent a small CV taskforce (2CV, 1CVL) and a surface fleet towards the area to see what was going on...
Turns out my suspicions were right, Dan withdrew these ships towards Aus as soon as my fleets were sighted.......meanwhile a huge invasion fleet covered by his CV's was sighted only a fex hexes south of Nevea[X(] I assume bad weather helped to hide it from my recon.
I have sent everything that floats towards the area. The main KB consisting of 5CV + 2CVL with a total of 400 a/c. Two surface fleets each with 2 BB's and plenty of escorts ready to hit the invasion fleets, with a third being diverted to the area along with the mini KB. I have about 200 twin engined types on Lunga and Irau ready to go.
I estimate I am facing his 3 surviving CV's and perhaps 3-4 CVE's - about 380 a/c? He also has plenty of land based a/c to call on. I assume he has also thrown in every warship he has left including a couple of 16" fast BB's....I wish I had my 18" BB's available, both are at Truk recovering from damage[8|]
So as it stands at 15 Jan 43 his invasion fleet is one hex south of Nevea and all my forces are ready to strike. I will be happy to trade CV for CV as long as I can smash whats left of his fleet and halt the comeback.
Weather permitting, tomorrow will be the day the war is either won or lost[&o]
Allies down but not out
Update for 16-31 Jan 43.
Well its fair to say the Nevea invasion was a disaster for Dan. Jan 16th was probably my best ever day in any UV game I have played.
To begin with plenty of his invasion force struck some of the hundreds of mines I had layed. Then two of my surface task forces, both consisting of 2BB 2CA 2CL plus DD's blew through his surface cover fleet of similar size, losing a couple of DD's but sinking a CA and a few of his DD's....to get to his big juicy AP's with all his troops aboard....and sank ten of them[:D] before retiring.
Daytime brought the big CV fleet action (or non-action in Dan's case). The KB launched an uber 250 plane raid that swamped Dan's CAP and sank the Yorktown and Saratoga, Wasp was also hit and finished off a few days later. However the fact that for the second time his carriers did not launch any counter-strike took the shine off the victory[8|] Dan was also unaware that his CAP would be halved if his CV's were in a coastal hex (they were all at Nevea) although I do not know if that would have mattered to the end result....
BB Maryland, damaged by the previous night action was finished off by my LBA but they hit little else and took heavy losses...whilst his LBA damaged a few of my CA's.
But all credit to Dan, alot of players would have quit after these blows, but he vowed to fight on[&o]
Next day was no better for him. A smaller surface fleet of CA's and DD's hit his invasion fleet again at night......no covering fleet to oppose this time....result 3 more of his transports sunk. Dan had assigned a big surface fleet to stay on patrol at Nevea but for some reason they retired[&:] The KB caught an APD fleet after it had rushed troops to Nevea and sank most of them. Again my LBA were largely ineffective and hit little if anything...
On the ground my troops on Nevea (assault value of around 600) hit Dan's troops with a shock attack and forced half his force to surrender[:)]
So onto the 18th....a mini surface force of CL/DD's ran into his 16" fast BB's plus 20 or so escorts[X(] at Nevea and all went down[:(]
Dan gambled today.....sacrificing his CVE's to save his transport/surface fleets from KB attack, all four CVE's went down although they did manage to get off a strike that got through my CAP but missed! Another shock attack ashore killed off the remainder of his troops at Nevea.
With the KB low of fuel I retired it the next day but land based SBD's managed to hit Junyo, more hits the next day sank her....my first CV loss of the campaign. This more or less ended the Nevea battle.
Elsewhere Dan's heavies from Aus have turned PM into a crater but no sign of any invasion there in the near future. I have lost alot of AP's over this period to aircraft but still have plenty in reserve. Likewise Nevea is a crater now due to daily raids form his twin engined planes, I am pulling all the air cover and base forces out using barges whilst I still have a chance.....however the heavy units will remain to fight to the death[:@]
As to air losses, I guess I have lost over 500 a/c over this period, half to op losses. My LBA has bore the brunt and achieved little. Most of my land based Zeros are now flown by rookies. Points gap is 6700.
Dan has lost almost all his carrier air until mid 43 but his LBA is getting almost unstoppable now plus he has the Corsair coming online. I guess the next month or so will be quiet until he can build another invasion fleet, we shall see...he is in a big hole but still has the tools to dig himself out.
Well its fair to say the Nevea invasion was a disaster for Dan. Jan 16th was probably my best ever day in any UV game I have played.
To begin with plenty of his invasion force struck some of the hundreds of mines I had layed. Then two of my surface task forces, both consisting of 2BB 2CA 2CL plus DD's blew through his surface cover fleet of similar size, losing a couple of DD's but sinking a CA and a few of his DD's....to get to his big juicy AP's with all his troops aboard....and sank ten of them[:D] before retiring.
Daytime brought the big CV fleet action (or non-action in Dan's case). The KB launched an uber 250 plane raid that swamped Dan's CAP and sank the Yorktown and Saratoga, Wasp was also hit and finished off a few days later. However the fact that for the second time his carriers did not launch any counter-strike took the shine off the victory[8|] Dan was also unaware that his CAP would be halved if his CV's were in a coastal hex (they were all at Nevea) although I do not know if that would have mattered to the end result....
BB Maryland, damaged by the previous night action was finished off by my LBA but they hit little else and took heavy losses...whilst his LBA damaged a few of my CA's.
But all credit to Dan, alot of players would have quit after these blows, but he vowed to fight on[&o]
Next day was no better for him. A smaller surface fleet of CA's and DD's hit his invasion fleet again at night......no covering fleet to oppose this time....result 3 more of his transports sunk. Dan had assigned a big surface fleet to stay on patrol at Nevea but for some reason they retired[&:] The KB caught an APD fleet after it had rushed troops to Nevea and sank most of them. Again my LBA were largely ineffective and hit little if anything...
On the ground my troops on Nevea (assault value of around 600) hit Dan's troops with a shock attack and forced half his force to surrender[:)]
So onto the 18th....a mini surface force of CL/DD's ran into his 16" fast BB's plus 20 or so escorts[X(] at Nevea and all went down[:(]
Dan gambled today.....sacrificing his CVE's to save his transport/surface fleets from KB attack, all four CVE's went down although they did manage to get off a strike that got through my CAP but missed! Another shock attack ashore killed off the remainder of his troops at Nevea.
With the KB low of fuel I retired it the next day but land based SBD's managed to hit Junyo, more hits the next day sank her....my first CV loss of the campaign. This more or less ended the Nevea battle.
Elsewhere Dan's heavies from Aus have turned PM into a crater but no sign of any invasion there in the near future. I have lost alot of AP's over this period to aircraft but still have plenty in reserve. Likewise Nevea is a crater now due to daily raids form his twin engined planes, I am pulling all the air cover and base forces out using barges whilst I still have a chance.....however the heavy units will remain to fight to the death[:@]
As to air losses, I guess I have lost over 500 a/c over this period, half to op losses. My LBA has bore the brunt and achieved little. Most of my land based Zeros are now flown by rookies. Points gap is 6700.
Dan has lost almost all his carrier air until mid 43 but his LBA is getting almost unstoppable now plus he has the Corsair coming online. I guess the next month or so will be quiet until he can build another invasion fleet, we shall see...he is in a big hole but still has the tools to dig himself out.
RE: Canoerebel v Miller Scn 19
Sir,
Your camaign sounds like it is going VERY well. I played Dan in three campaigns and did two AARs. He is an excellent and good opponent. Good Luck to you and, more importantly---BANZAI!
John
Your camaign sounds like it is going VERY well. I played Dan in three campaigns and did two AARs. He is an excellent and good opponent. Good Luck to you and, more importantly---BANZAI!
John
Member: Treaty, Reluctant Admiral and Between the Storms Mod Team.
The allies strike back!
Update for 1-14 Feb 43.
The first ten days or so of this period were quiet apart from Dans continued heavy raids on PM and Nevea airfields. Both are totally beyond repair at the moment.
I noticed alot of activity around his base at Gavigamana (a few hexes south of Nevea). Recon confirmed the presence of his uber surface fleet...2 fast BB's plus CAs and almost 20 DD's covering transports. I hatched a cunning plan to dispose of this fleet....which failed miserably[:(]
I sent Kongo and Haruna plus escorts to engage his BB's in a night battle to hopefully soften them up for the KB to finish off the next day....fine in theory. However, the surface combat went badly....both my BB's took 16" hits without scoring in return. Come daylight both these lame ducks were pounded into atoms by land based SBD/TBFs along with the modern CL Agano.
Meanwhile the KB, two hexes away from dans fleet decided not to launch[:@] My pilots were obviously too busy working on their suntans[8|] but hey who am I to complain after the disasters Dan has endured! A few LBA decided to attack but as usual hit nothing.
I think I will let Dan do all the attacking now and hit him on the counter. Points diff down to 6000 thanks to my BB's hitting the ocean floor.
The first ten days or so of this period were quiet apart from Dans continued heavy raids on PM and Nevea airfields. Both are totally beyond repair at the moment.
I noticed alot of activity around his base at Gavigamana (a few hexes south of Nevea). Recon confirmed the presence of his uber surface fleet...2 fast BB's plus CAs and almost 20 DD's covering transports. I hatched a cunning plan to dispose of this fleet....which failed miserably[:(]
I sent Kongo and Haruna plus escorts to engage his BB's in a night battle to hopefully soften them up for the KB to finish off the next day....fine in theory. However, the surface combat went badly....both my BB's took 16" hits without scoring in return. Come daylight both these lame ducks were pounded into atoms by land based SBD/TBFs along with the modern CL Agano.
Meanwhile the KB, two hexes away from dans fleet decided not to launch[:@] My pilots were obviously too busy working on their suntans[8|] but hey who am I to complain after the disasters Dan has endured! A few LBA decided to attack but as usual hit nothing.
I think I will let Dan do all the attacking now and hit him on the counter. Points diff down to 6000 thanks to my BB's hitting the ocean floor.
RE: The allies strike back!
Update for 15-28 Feb 43.
I messed up rather this period. I became fixated with trying to destroy his large surface task force covering whatever his transports were doing at Gavigamana. Several KB strikes did little but bounce bombs off his BB's armor and as usual my LBA bombers hit bugger all[:@]
By the time I sent in a couple of large surface fleets to try and finish the job his BB's had escaped (badly damaged I presume) to the safety of Luganville port. I traded a CA and a couple of CL/DD's during the surface battles - the trouble now is his damaged ships live to see another day whilst mine perish to his huge LBA strikes the next day[:(]
Op losses are huge now...getting 50+ on heavy days, my land based fighter sqd's are little more than cannon fodder for Dan's Corsair and P38 units....one day I lost 50 Oscars to about 2 of his[X(]
The usual heavy strikes against PM and Nevea continue but no sign of any invasion in the near future. There will be no more fruitless foray's south by the KB or any surface units in future, I am losing too many resources for little reward. Dan must take the fight to me from now on[:-]
I messed up rather this period. I became fixated with trying to destroy his large surface task force covering whatever his transports were doing at Gavigamana. Several KB strikes did little but bounce bombs off his BB's armor and as usual my LBA bombers hit bugger all[:@]
By the time I sent in a couple of large surface fleets to try and finish the job his BB's had escaped (badly damaged I presume) to the safety of Luganville port. I traded a CA and a couple of CL/DD's during the surface battles - the trouble now is his damaged ships live to see another day whilst mine perish to his huge LBA strikes the next day[:(]
Op losses are huge now...getting 50+ on heavy days, my land based fighter sqd's are little more than cannon fodder for Dan's Corsair and P38 units....one day I lost 50 Oscars to about 2 of his[X(]
The usual heavy strikes against PM and Nevea continue but no sign of any invasion in the near future. There will be no more fruitless foray's south by the KB or any surface units in future, I am losing too many resources for little reward. Dan must take the fight to me from now on[:-]
Quiet.....
Update for 1-15 Mar 43.
Well apart from the almost daily raids by his LBA on PM and Nevea nothing of note this period. Absolutely no offensive actions by myself other than a few fighter sweeps to try and build up exp in my rookie units....but this seems a pointless exercise as op losses cancel out any exp gain[8|]
I did get a couple of high exp replacement Zero units and these will go straight onto my CVE's to boost the KB CAP when it next sails into action - probably not for a while yet as I think Dan only has Essex and a few CVL/E's to play with at the moment.
Updated tally of ships losses:
IJN - 1 CV, 3 BB, 7 CA, 6 CL, 40 DD, 6 APD, 2 AV, 11 SS, 14 MSW/ML/PC/PG, 59 AP.
USN - 6 CV, 5 CVE, 2 BB, 8 CA, 6 CL, 4 CLAA, 45 DD, 11 APD, 2 AV, 6 SS, 42 SC/PT, 30 AP/AK, 1 AO.
Points difference around 5500....this will go down to the wire.
Well apart from the almost daily raids by his LBA on PM and Nevea nothing of note this period. Absolutely no offensive actions by myself other than a few fighter sweeps to try and build up exp in my rookie units....but this seems a pointless exercise as op losses cancel out any exp gain[8|]
I did get a couple of high exp replacement Zero units and these will go straight onto my CVE's to boost the KB CAP when it next sails into action - probably not for a while yet as I think Dan only has Essex and a few CVL/E's to play with at the moment.
Updated tally of ships losses:
IJN - 1 CV, 3 BB, 7 CA, 6 CL, 40 DD, 6 APD, 2 AV, 11 SS, 14 MSW/ML/PC/PG, 59 AP.
USN - 6 CV, 5 CVE, 2 BB, 8 CA, 6 CL, 4 CLAA, 45 DD, 11 APD, 2 AV, 6 SS, 42 SC/PT, 30 AP/AK, 1 AO.
Points difference around 5500....this will go down to the wire.
More Allied woe...
Update for 16-31 Mar 43.
Well against my better judgement I decided on another all out attack against the various surface combat and transport task forces massed at gavigamana. This cunning plan involved a pincer movement, the KB attacking from the north whilst a surface force of 3 BB's plus escort moved in from the west.....as usual the co-ordination failed with mixed consquences[&:]
The plan was for the BB's to attack at night after the KB had struck the previous day to pick off any cripples but they got into attack positon a day earlier than expected, hence no CAP cover....resulting in a massed attack by Dan's LBA and carrier[X(] planes....result 2 BB's sinking (Ise and Hyuga) and one half of the pincer smashed!
However the KB weighed in with the "equaliser". Two uber raids saw the CV's Essex and Victorious plus the CVL Independance end up deader than disco.......again Dan's admiral disobeyed the 'do not react' order and moved away from the massed Corsair CAP at Gavigamana to attack my BB's (and not my carriers - so the BB sacrafice was not in vain).
The next day howver was best described as the 'Great Gavigamana Turkey shoot'[:-]
Two more huge KB raids on his suface units were met by over 100 Corsairs/P38's on CAP.....I lost almost 200 a/c (mainly Zeros) in return for about 20 and only managed to sink a couple of DD's.....needless to say I sent my fleet scuttling for the safety of Rabual the next day[&o]
PM still looks like the moon thanks to his b17's and I smell I counter invasion at Nevea very soon.....getting very hard to keep it in supplies now. Onwards[:@]
P.S. Any advice/opinions on my future strategy? Should I baton down the hatches now and wait for his attacks or use the KB offensively whilst I still have the chance (bearing in mind most of its pilots are rookies now!?)
Well against my better judgement I decided on another all out attack against the various surface combat and transport task forces massed at gavigamana. This cunning plan involved a pincer movement, the KB attacking from the north whilst a surface force of 3 BB's plus escort moved in from the west.....as usual the co-ordination failed with mixed consquences[&:]
The plan was for the BB's to attack at night after the KB had struck the previous day to pick off any cripples but they got into attack positon a day earlier than expected, hence no CAP cover....resulting in a massed attack by Dan's LBA and carrier[X(] planes....result 2 BB's sinking (Ise and Hyuga) and one half of the pincer smashed!
However the KB weighed in with the "equaliser". Two uber raids saw the CV's Essex and Victorious plus the CVL Independance end up deader than disco.......again Dan's admiral disobeyed the 'do not react' order and moved away from the massed Corsair CAP at Gavigamana to attack my BB's (and not my carriers - so the BB sacrafice was not in vain).
The next day howver was best described as the 'Great Gavigamana Turkey shoot'[:-]
Two more huge KB raids on his suface units were met by over 100 Corsairs/P38's on CAP.....I lost almost 200 a/c (mainly Zeros) in return for about 20 and only managed to sink a couple of DD's.....needless to say I sent my fleet scuttling for the safety of Rabual the next day[&o]
PM still looks like the moon thanks to his b17's and I smell I counter invasion at Nevea very soon.....getting very hard to keep it in supplies now. Onwards[:@]
P.S. Any advice/opinions on my future strategy? Should I baton down the hatches now and wait for his attacks or use the KB offensively whilst I still have the chance (bearing in mind most of its pilots are rookies now!?)
The tide begins to turn....
Update for 1-15 April 43.
A very nasty period for the IJN. Dan staged his second invasion of Nevea and this time got enough troops ashore to stave off my initial shock attack......mainly down to the low supply level of my forces I believe. I sent the KB (full of rookie pilots now) to try and smash his transport fleets but only suceeded in destroying my air groups.
Two days running I lost over 200 a/c getting through Dan's CAP for very little return - sank his last operational CVE plus a few transports - all too little too late to stop his troops getting a strong foothold ashore.
My surface units faired better. Tanaka took Yamato, 2 other BB's plus escort to Nevea to try and get at the transports but ran into a similar size US force. An inconclusive battle followed but I forced his BB's to retire damaged......a repeat raid the next night by the same force sank a CA and 3 CL's plus half a dozen DD's...however my damaged ships could not get out of air attack range the next day and I lost BB Hiei and the CA Maya plus several DD's under a hail of bombs (Dan has at least 200 SBD/TBF at Gavigamana just a few hexes south of Nevea[X(])
Realising that my mass of troops at Nevea will not last long without supplies I organised a F/T fleet to try and break through and drop off a load....it met resistance that cost Dan another CA plus a DD or two but failed to get through and his planes finished off 3 damaged DD's the next day.
Elsewhere all my forward bases have been pounded by heavies...PM, Gili-Gili and Irau are all totally out of action now.....luckily I managed to pull out the bulk of what aircraft were left at these bases before they were permanently closed, at the minute he is just bombing craters left over from old raids[8|]
The tide has definately turned now. Unless I can get supplies into Nevea soon he will capture it and be able to use the airfield there to start a likely offensive on Lunga and the rest of the Solomons. The KB is a paper tiger now......half full of a/c at most and all rookie crews manning them. I am toying with the idea of landing the airgroups and sending the carriers empty back to Truk just to keep them from becoming easy VP's to Dan later in the game.
I am also running low on surface ships at the minute, especially DD's. Half of my BB's and CA's are either sunk or out of the war with damage. I think Dan is scraping the bottom of the barrel as well in this department but he has huge LBA numbers now.
But the empire will continue to fight on......Banzai and all that s h i t[:D]
A very nasty period for the IJN. Dan staged his second invasion of Nevea and this time got enough troops ashore to stave off my initial shock attack......mainly down to the low supply level of my forces I believe. I sent the KB (full of rookie pilots now) to try and smash his transport fleets but only suceeded in destroying my air groups.
Two days running I lost over 200 a/c getting through Dan's CAP for very little return - sank his last operational CVE plus a few transports - all too little too late to stop his troops getting a strong foothold ashore.
My surface units faired better. Tanaka took Yamato, 2 other BB's plus escort to Nevea to try and get at the transports but ran into a similar size US force. An inconclusive battle followed but I forced his BB's to retire damaged......a repeat raid the next night by the same force sank a CA and 3 CL's plus half a dozen DD's...however my damaged ships could not get out of air attack range the next day and I lost BB Hiei and the CA Maya plus several DD's under a hail of bombs (Dan has at least 200 SBD/TBF at Gavigamana just a few hexes south of Nevea[X(])
Realising that my mass of troops at Nevea will not last long without supplies I organised a F/T fleet to try and break through and drop off a load....it met resistance that cost Dan another CA plus a DD or two but failed to get through and his planes finished off 3 damaged DD's the next day.
Elsewhere all my forward bases have been pounded by heavies...PM, Gili-Gili and Irau are all totally out of action now.....luckily I managed to pull out the bulk of what aircraft were left at these bases before they were permanently closed, at the minute he is just bombing craters left over from old raids[8|]
The tide has definately turned now. Unless I can get supplies into Nevea soon he will capture it and be able to use the airfield there to start a likely offensive on Lunga and the rest of the Solomons. The KB is a paper tiger now......half full of a/c at most and all rookie crews manning them. I am toying with the idea of landing the airgroups and sending the carriers empty back to Truk just to keep them from becoming easy VP's to Dan later in the game.
I am also running low on surface ships at the minute, especially DD's. Half of my BB's and CA's are either sunk or out of the war with damage. I think Dan is scraping the bottom of the barrel as well in this department but he has huge LBA numbers now.
But the empire will continue to fight on......Banzai and all that s h i t[:D]
Suprise allied move
Update for 16-30 April 43.
Nevea fell due to lack of supply....tried one more all out FT convoy to get supplies in but for some resaon it stood 5 hexes from Nevea during the daytime when it was in range to make a run the previous night[&:] add 150 SBD/TBF - result another CA and more DD's down the shitter for nothing.
However this loss was soon forgotten about when Dan pulled off a stunning move in the New Guinea area to open up a second front[&o]
A FT fleet of his managed to avoid detection and landed Engineer units on the unoccupied Goodenough Is (3 hexes north of GG). By the time I realised what was going on he had the airfield there operational and was flying in infantry units by air......but even more critical was his landing of troops on Dobadura (held by me but only one small unit there in defence). As this has a size 9 airfield I would be in trouble if it fell!
I did what I could, diverted every available surface ship (many with 30+ sys damage) into rag-tag fleets to try and stop his transport fleets getting enough men ashore....my aircraft at GG were only able to mount small attacks before his heavies closed the strip.
Results - My fleets ran into a surface group of 2 BB's and a lot of escorts off Dobadura/Goodenough Is....I lost several CL's and DD's in return for a modern CL and a few DD's but could not effect the outcome as Dobadura quickly fell[:@]
Where was the KB? I hear you ask....well i had sent it way North to bomb the unoccupied little Nauru Is to build up pilot exp......talk about bad timing......I obviously sent it back as fast as possible but by the time it got in range the damage was already done...the bad weather at the end of this period meant it did not launch any strikes (4 days of Thunderstorms in a row!)
So as it stands Dan has Dobadura with plenty of troops in place. However I have every available transport heading for Goodenough Is.....I managed to FT enough troops in there to make his life uncomfortable...if I could possible take it I could make his situation on Dobadura untenable.......it all depends how many troops he can airlift into these bases now, as he has (hopefully) no way to cover any more transport fleets to supply then for the forseeable future (no carrier support available to him).
Lets hope the KB can do some damage and restore honour to the empire[&o]
Nevea fell due to lack of supply....tried one more all out FT convoy to get supplies in but for some resaon it stood 5 hexes from Nevea during the daytime when it was in range to make a run the previous night[&:] add 150 SBD/TBF - result another CA and more DD's down the shitter for nothing.
However this loss was soon forgotten about when Dan pulled off a stunning move in the New Guinea area to open up a second front[&o]
A FT fleet of his managed to avoid detection and landed Engineer units on the unoccupied Goodenough Is (3 hexes north of GG). By the time I realised what was going on he had the airfield there operational and was flying in infantry units by air......but even more critical was his landing of troops on Dobadura (held by me but only one small unit there in defence). As this has a size 9 airfield I would be in trouble if it fell!
I did what I could, diverted every available surface ship (many with 30+ sys damage) into rag-tag fleets to try and stop his transport fleets getting enough men ashore....my aircraft at GG were only able to mount small attacks before his heavies closed the strip.
Results - My fleets ran into a surface group of 2 BB's and a lot of escorts off Dobadura/Goodenough Is....I lost several CL's and DD's in return for a modern CL and a few DD's but could not effect the outcome as Dobadura quickly fell[:@]
Where was the KB? I hear you ask....well i had sent it way North to bomb the unoccupied little Nauru Is to build up pilot exp......talk about bad timing......I obviously sent it back as fast as possible but by the time it got in range the damage was already done...the bad weather at the end of this period meant it did not launch any strikes (4 days of Thunderstorms in a row!)
So as it stands Dan has Dobadura with plenty of troops in place. However I have every available transport heading for Goodenough Is.....I managed to FT enough troops in there to make his life uncomfortable...if I could possible take it I could make his situation on Dobadura untenable.......it all depends how many troops he can airlift into these bases now, as he has (hopefully) no way to cover any more transport fleets to supply then for the forseeable future (no carrier support available to him).
Lets hope the KB can do some damage and restore honour to the empire[&o]
RE: Canoerebel v Miller Scn 19
Update for 1-15 May 43.
A very hectic period. Not content with his move on Dobadura/Goodenough Is Dan also landed at PM and back over in the Solomons at Irau. However I think he over-extended himself.[:-]
The KB finally got its act together and caused havoc around the NG area, sinking many of Dan's transports (albiet after they had dropped off their loads) and his 2 BB's covering the landings. A surface fleet of Yamato plus DD's also contributed to the carnage....I continued to try and reinforce my troop levels at Goodenough but at high cost in transports to his gathering air power at Dobadura.
Dans invasion of Irau was a bit of a disaster, I think he underestimated the amount of troops I had there (700+ assault points worth!). A couple of shock attacks forced all the troops he had managed to land to surrender - 12 months of mine laying paid off as many of his AP's were lost to these before they could get any troops ashore. Likewise at PM he could not get enough troops ashore to withstand my initial shock attacks although the bulk of his forces managed to retreat north.
Dan switched his LBA based in Aus from attacking my bases to naval attack to try and stop my supply runs into PM/Goodenough Is....they have achieved uber results and have killed many many transports (I would estimate 50 plus altogether)[X(] but it did allow the many a/c I had trapped at Gili-Gili to escape to safer airfields.
A brief lull in the action allowed me to regroup the KB. Now holding enough a/c to barely fill 4 CV's I have sent the rest to Truk as they are useless now. I hope when they are sent home to Tokyo I might get some badly needed CA/CL/DD in return - I doubt it though[8|]
Despite my efforts I think he is to well entrenched at Dobadura and Goodenough Is now. My only chance is to cut off his supply (although I cannot prevent air supply) in the faint hope of starving his troops out. I am aware also that he will have at least 3 or so CVL's to play with now and they could cause whats left of the KB a problem in its weakened state.
The fight continues.............
A very hectic period. Not content with his move on Dobadura/Goodenough Is Dan also landed at PM and back over in the Solomons at Irau. However I think he over-extended himself.[:-]
The KB finally got its act together and caused havoc around the NG area, sinking many of Dan's transports (albiet after they had dropped off their loads) and his 2 BB's covering the landings. A surface fleet of Yamato plus DD's also contributed to the carnage....I continued to try and reinforce my troop levels at Goodenough but at high cost in transports to his gathering air power at Dobadura.
Dans invasion of Irau was a bit of a disaster, I think he underestimated the amount of troops I had there (700+ assault points worth!). A couple of shock attacks forced all the troops he had managed to land to surrender - 12 months of mine laying paid off as many of his AP's were lost to these before they could get any troops ashore. Likewise at PM he could not get enough troops ashore to withstand my initial shock attacks although the bulk of his forces managed to retreat north.
Dan switched his LBA based in Aus from attacking my bases to naval attack to try and stop my supply runs into PM/Goodenough Is....they have achieved uber results and have killed many many transports (I would estimate 50 plus altogether)[X(] but it did allow the many a/c I had trapped at Gili-Gili to escape to safer airfields.
A brief lull in the action allowed me to regroup the KB. Now holding enough a/c to barely fill 4 CV's I have sent the rest to Truk as they are useless now. I hope when they are sent home to Tokyo I might get some badly needed CA/CL/DD in return - I doubt it though[8|]
Despite my efforts I think he is to well entrenched at Dobadura and Goodenough Is now. My only chance is to cut off his supply (although I cannot prevent air supply) in the faint hope of starving his troops out. I am aware also that he will have at least 3 or so CVL's to play with now and they could cause whats left of the KB a problem in its weakened state.
The fight continues.............
RE: Canoerebel v Miller Scn 19
Update for 16-31 May 43.
The struggle for Goodenough Is continues. We both have roughly the same number of troops there but Dan continues to airlift in more troops and supply....I doubt I can prevail here now.
Otherwise, a relatively quiet period. His troops that were ejected from PM are now marching north to Buna and/or Dobadura. My large garrison at PM is effectively cut off now, and I do not have the ships to do a FT evacuation....using normal transports would be suicide as he has too many a/c based at Dobadura waiting to strike.
The Solomon area is very quiet. I think he does not have enough troops in this theatre to take Irau as it seems he has diverted as many as possible to his New Guinea operations....we shall see[8|]
The KB is in port awaiting orders......I dare not send it in range of Dobadura as I doubt the weakened CAP would deter any future attacks, I may ground the airgroups and fly them from bases as the need arises in the future. My land based air is still recovering from the battering it took a few months back, they have not flown any offensive missions for weeks now.
Points difference has been a steady 5000 for the lasts few turns.....if I am lucky I will still be 1 point ahead on 31 Dec......[&o]
The struggle for Goodenough Is continues. We both have roughly the same number of troops there but Dan continues to airlift in more troops and supply....I doubt I can prevail here now.
Otherwise, a relatively quiet period. His troops that were ejected from PM are now marching north to Buna and/or Dobadura. My large garrison at PM is effectively cut off now, and I do not have the ships to do a FT evacuation....using normal transports would be suicide as he has too many a/c based at Dobadura waiting to strike.
The Solomon area is very quiet. I think he does not have enough troops in this theatre to take Irau as it seems he has diverted as many as possible to his New Guinea operations....we shall see[8|]
The KB is in port awaiting orders......I dare not send it in range of Dobadura as I doubt the weakened CAP would deter any future attacks, I may ground the airgroups and fly them from bases as the need arises in the future. My land based air is still recovering from the battering it took a few months back, they have not flown any offensive missions for weeks now.
Points difference has been a steady 5000 for the lasts few turns.....if I am lucky I will still be 1 point ahead on 31 Dec......[&o]
RE: Canoerebel v Miller Scn 19
Update for 1-15 Jun 43.
Dark days for the IJN[:(]
New Guinea seems all but lost. Dan continues to trickle troops and supplies into Goodenough and it is only a matter of time before he evicts my troops. I am not too bothered about not being able to recapture the base but he has a couple of strong surface fleets in the vacinity that make any withdrawl of my forces unlikely...
The once invincible KB has finally crumbled. Reduced to 4 carriers due to aircraft shortage, this was soon down to 3 as Akagi ate a sub torpedo....she has retired and will not play any further part in the war. Then followed a small carrier battle as Dan sent a couple of transport fleets north towards Lae[X(] I sank a CVL (Bellau Wood) and damaged another (Princeton) that were covering his transports but a counter strike put a torp into Kaga....and she like her half-sister lives on but is out of the war.
In the midst of all this carnage my once mighty surface forces, now reduced to 2CA and about 10 CL/DD made several stabs at his fleets off Goodenough and later against his landings at Lae. They sank plenty of ships but really it is too little too late.....and of course his SBD/TBFs picked off my damaged retreating ships.....another half dozen destroyers lost. PM and GG continue to be bombed into the stone age by his heavies.
LBA strikes just cannot get through his CAP now, almost pointless sending the a/c to certain doom[:@] The Solomons area is ghost town at the minute.....apart from raids on Irau by a few twin engined planes nothing is happening.
Not content with landing at Lae Dans paratroops took the undefended base to the west (the names escape me) and FT troops the base to the east. Luckily the few troops left at Lae are holding out up to now........
There is one last all or nothing convoy containing enough troops to evict Dan from Lae sailing there as I write....the KB (now just Hiryu and CVE Chuyo) had covered it part of the way but a large strike from Dobadura crippled the Hiryu and sank Chuyo. Every available land based fighter is now LRCAPing the convoy......but most have morale shot to bits so its looks like I will be taking more pain, we shall see[8|]
Dark days for the IJN[:(]
New Guinea seems all but lost. Dan continues to trickle troops and supplies into Goodenough and it is only a matter of time before he evicts my troops. I am not too bothered about not being able to recapture the base but he has a couple of strong surface fleets in the vacinity that make any withdrawl of my forces unlikely...
The once invincible KB has finally crumbled. Reduced to 4 carriers due to aircraft shortage, this was soon down to 3 as Akagi ate a sub torpedo....she has retired and will not play any further part in the war. Then followed a small carrier battle as Dan sent a couple of transport fleets north towards Lae[X(] I sank a CVL (Bellau Wood) and damaged another (Princeton) that were covering his transports but a counter strike put a torp into Kaga....and she like her half-sister lives on but is out of the war.
In the midst of all this carnage my once mighty surface forces, now reduced to 2CA and about 10 CL/DD made several stabs at his fleets off Goodenough and later against his landings at Lae. They sank plenty of ships but really it is too little too late.....and of course his SBD/TBFs picked off my damaged retreating ships.....another half dozen destroyers lost. PM and GG continue to be bombed into the stone age by his heavies.
LBA strikes just cannot get through his CAP now, almost pointless sending the a/c to certain doom[:@] The Solomons area is ghost town at the minute.....apart from raids on Irau by a few twin engined planes nothing is happening.
Not content with landing at Lae Dans paratroops took the undefended base to the west (the names escape me) and FT troops the base to the east. Luckily the few troops left at Lae are holding out up to now........
There is one last all or nothing convoy containing enough troops to evict Dan from Lae sailing there as I write....the KB (now just Hiryu and CVE Chuyo) had covered it part of the way but a large strike from Dobadura crippled the Hiryu and sank Chuyo. Every available land based fighter is now LRCAPing the convoy......but most have morale shot to bits so its looks like I will be taking more pain, we shall see[8|]
RE: Canoerebel v Miller Scn 19
Update for 16-30 Jun 43.
Well perhaps there is hope for me in New Guinea after all....I think Dan has overstretched his resources[:'(]
My last gasp troop convoy to Lae took a pounding from aircraft but managed to get the bulk of its load ashore. The division it unloaded shock attacked Dan's unsupplied troops into retreating west where they are currently cut off from anything other than air supply. I have units moving north from PM to cut off any further retreat.....hopefully I can eliminate his troops in a pincer movement by sending troops west from Lae towards him, we shall see.
In other action a surface fleet of 2CA plus CL/DDs headed south to Goodenough to try and sink some of Dan's badly damaged ships that were anchored there (it is only a level 1 port so he cannot disband any fleets). They finished off an old BB and a CA plus a few DD's but then ran into a fresh fleet containing a couple more BBs......as usual a few hits slowed down my retiring fleet and a further CA plus 3 DD now lie on the ocean floor, finished off by a/c the next day.
I must also report that the mighty Yamato has fought her last battle......already at 50 sys damage due to previous actions I sent her along with a badly damaged CL on a suicide mission to cover the transports unloading at Lae.....they did their duty well, Yamato soaking up 1000lb bomb hits during the day before they met a surface fleet of DD's sent north by Dan to try and get at the transports at night. Her 18"ers blew apart two DD's but in her damaged state she could not avoid the torpedoes sent her way....3 or 4 hits later and the big girl slipped under the waves[&o]her duty to the empire fulfilled. The CL also went under but by the time his fleet got to my transports the troops were already ashore...they finished off half a dozen cripples.
With no carriers to play with at the moment Dan's small supply convoys to Goodenough continue unmolested...I will be suprised if my troops there hold out for another 2 weeks.
Not all doom and gloom however as a fresh batch of ships had been released to me from Tokyo including 3 carriers and badly needed destroyers. I am currently rebuilding the KB airgroups to put onto the CV's when they arrive. Onwards.
Well perhaps there is hope for me in New Guinea after all....I think Dan has overstretched his resources[:'(]
My last gasp troop convoy to Lae took a pounding from aircraft but managed to get the bulk of its load ashore. The division it unloaded shock attacked Dan's unsupplied troops into retreating west where they are currently cut off from anything other than air supply. I have units moving north from PM to cut off any further retreat.....hopefully I can eliminate his troops in a pincer movement by sending troops west from Lae towards him, we shall see.
In other action a surface fleet of 2CA plus CL/DDs headed south to Goodenough to try and sink some of Dan's badly damaged ships that were anchored there (it is only a level 1 port so he cannot disband any fleets). They finished off an old BB and a CA plus a few DD's but then ran into a fresh fleet containing a couple more BBs......as usual a few hits slowed down my retiring fleet and a further CA plus 3 DD now lie on the ocean floor, finished off by a/c the next day.
I must also report that the mighty Yamato has fought her last battle......already at 50 sys damage due to previous actions I sent her along with a badly damaged CL on a suicide mission to cover the transports unloading at Lae.....they did their duty well, Yamato soaking up 1000lb bomb hits during the day before they met a surface fleet of DD's sent north by Dan to try and get at the transports at night. Her 18"ers blew apart two DD's but in her damaged state she could not avoid the torpedoes sent her way....3 or 4 hits later and the big girl slipped under the waves[&o]her duty to the empire fulfilled. The CL also went under but by the time his fleet got to my transports the troops were already ashore...they finished off half a dozen cripples.
With no carriers to play with at the moment Dan's small supply convoys to Goodenough continue unmolested...I will be suprised if my troops there hold out for another 2 weeks.
Not all doom and gloom however as a fresh batch of ships had been released to me from Tokyo including 3 carriers and badly needed destroyers. I am currently rebuilding the KB airgroups to put onto the CV's when they arrive. Onwards.
RE: Canoerebel v Miller Scn 19
Keep fighting on -never surrender![:@][:@][:@]
big seas, fast ships, life tastes better with salt
RE: Canoerebel v Miller Scn 19
Do not worry Herbiesan - the Yankee dogs will pay in blood for every inch of his majesty's soil[:@]
Update for 1-15 Jul 43.
Quiet (Seems to be a pattern forming - half a month of hard fighting followed by the other half spent recouperating losses). No real action worthy of a mention. My troops on Goodenough Is are on the verge of falling, I am suprised they have held out so long - a credit to the empire[&o]
The pocket of Dans troops that were trapped to the west of Lae after his failed invasion have mostly avoided destruction as he used Dakotas to evacuate before my troops could converge on him, although I did still manage to eliminate a sizeable number there......he will be more cautious in future or pay the penalty!
I have used the lull in the Solomons area to reposition some of my ground forces. I have evacuated about half the units on Irau (which was top heavy with troops but not much supply) and pulled them back to Lunga and Shortlands, giving me a more balanced defence when Dan eventually comes calling again[:-]
His 2E and 4E bomber raids continue on PM/GG/Irau but they are only bombing previously made craters which is fine by me[:D]
Updated tally of ship losses:
IJN - 1 CV, 1 CVE, 7 BB, 12 CA, 9 CL, 71 DD, 7 APD, 2 AV, 13 SS, 31 MSW/ML/PC/PG, 3 TK, 130[X(]AP.
USN - 8 CV, 8 CVL/E, 5 BB, 12 CA, 10 CL, 5 CLAA, 74 DD, 14 APD, 2 AV, 7 SS, 70 SC/PG/PT, 110 AP/AK, 20 LST/LCI, 16 MSW/DM/DMS, 8 AO/TK.
Although my losses in the carrier dept have been very light almost all their air groups have been wiped out. AP losses are critical now, I hardly have enough left to carry supplies never mind mount any kind of counter-invasion. Half of my remaining DD's are the older types, only really suitable for FT missions. I currently have no BB's in theater. True Dan's losses seem huge but he can now afford them more than I can now.
Points difference around 4500.
Update for 1-15 Jul 43.
Quiet (Seems to be a pattern forming - half a month of hard fighting followed by the other half spent recouperating losses). No real action worthy of a mention. My troops on Goodenough Is are on the verge of falling, I am suprised they have held out so long - a credit to the empire[&o]
The pocket of Dans troops that were trapped to the west of Lae after his failed invasion have mostly avoided destruction as he used Dakotas to evacuate before my troops could converge on him, although I did still manage to eliminate a sizeable number there......he will be more cautious in future or pay the penalty!
I have used the lull in the Solomons area to reposition some of my ground forces. I have evacuated about half the units on Irau (which was top heavy with troops but not much supply) and pulled them back to Lunga and Shortlands, giving me a more balanced defence when Dan eventually comes calling again[:-]
His 2E and 4E bomber raids continue on PM/GG/Irau but they are only bombing previously made craters which is fine by me[:D]
Updated tally of ship losses:
IJN - 1 CV, 1 CVE, 7 BB, 12 CA, 9 CL, 71 DD, 7 APD, 2 AV, 13 SS, 31 MSW/ML/PC/PG, 3 TK, 130[X(]AP.
USN - 8 CV, 8 CVL/E, 5 BB, 12 CA, 10 CL, 5 CLAA, 74 DD, 14 APD, 2 AV, 7 SS, 70 SC/PG/PT, 110 AP/AK, 20 LST/LCI, 16 MSW/DM/DMS, 8 AO/TK.
Although my losses in the carrier dept have been very light almost all their air groups have been wiped out. AP losses are critical now, I hardly have enough left to carry supplies never mind mount any kind of counter-invasion. Half of my remaining DD's are the older types, only really suitable for FT missions. I currently have no BB's in theater. True Dan's losses seem huge but he can now afford them more than I can now.
Points difference around 4500.