Dai Toa Senzo - Chuck vs Pat - CHS 155 allied side

[ctangus]

17-18 Feb

I'm jonesing for a turn, so I'll update the AAR in the meantime. We might have some excitment in Cent Pac, but we'll start further north:

NORTH PAC

A diplomatic message routed through Sweden (Pat's e-mail) stated that the Japanese ships in this theater were merely hunting whales. Bombardments of Attu lead me to think otherwise. [:)]

2 CLs & a bunch of destroyers sank AVD Gillis at Attu on the 17th. No follow on invasion yet. I thought I spotted APs, but maybe my recon was wrong & he was just trying to hit my float plane base. Either way, I have no major plans in this theater.

CENT PAC

At Canton Island, part of KB is still steaming towards the island. If it sprints, which I expect, it will be able to raid my shipping today. Almost all troops are unloaded now, though there still are a good number of AKs unloading supplies. SS I-22 sent a torp into AP Chaumont on the 18th. She's at 72 Flt, heading to Palmyra which just became a level 3 port and which will soon host an AR. I doubt she'll make it, but even so that's the first shipping damage I've taken on Operation Dim Sum.

Admiral Chuck decides that hitting the enemy's carriers is more important than protecting the transports still unloading. Little CAP (20%) is flying at the island. If the carriers come in range I'm hoping that the P-40Bs and F4F3s will allow a few of the bombers to get through. There's now 1 squadron of A-20s & 4 of B-25s there. Maybe I'll get lucky.

In case there's an opportunity my CVs are moving closer. If my LBA damages a Jap CV or two I'll probably try to finish them off with my CVs. See picture.

The rest of KB is still hanging out near the New Hebrides.

I've also pulled out some of the invasion forces from Canton Island. I figure that if Pat really wants to re-take it at this date, he will. Some shuffling of forces still needs to be done, but in the end I plan to have 1/2 an Inf Rgt, 1 Av Rgt an AA unit & a CD unit there. 2 engineer units in the short term to help build up forts, etc. I want enough there to keep him honest, but not so much that I lose a lot if he re-invades.

Once KB's out of the area, I'll also reinforce the dot-base 120 miles S of Canton. It will take a while to build up, but if I can get a level 2 AF there (DBs!), it will help a lot in the defense of the area.

SO PAC/SW PAC/DEI

Quiet. A couple more nuisance air raids on my part. I've spotted some transports at Amboina - I'm not sure if they're loading or unloading. Baby KB is spotted nearby.

PHIL

It looks like he's reinforced in the Phillipines. He attacked at Manila for the 2nd time:

02/18/42
Ground combat at Manila
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 149719 troops, 1118 guns, 201 vehicles
Defending force 58530 troops, 386 guns, 113 vehicles
Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 0
Japanese assault odds: 0 to 1 (fort level 0)
Japanese ground losses:
4830 casualties reported
Guns lost 115
Vehicles lost 12
Allied ground losses:
2083 casualties reported
Guns lost 29
Vehicles lost 3k

If my notes are correct, the attack has been reinforced by the 4th & 38th Div. 5 Japanese Divs, 2 tank Rgts & supporting forces are attacking. Supplies are down to 7846. On the plus side, forts will be back to 1 tomorrow. I think I can hold another 16-25 days. My goal is 15 March. If I can hold until then, I won't see the Japanese Phillipine forces invading anywhere else until after April begins when the Jap landing bonus (or whatever it's called) disappears.

I ordered a squadron of A-24s & one of Swordfish to Manila to try & catch unprotected shipping in the area. Pipedream II also depends on Manila holding.

RANDOM THOUGHTS

I'm out of fuel in several locations - Auckland, Brisbane and Soerabaja (of all places). Forts at Singapore reached 8. [:)] Mines at Soerabaja over 2300 now. SW PAC Air reinforcements are starting to arrive at Darwin.

[ctangus]

I haven't updated this in a while. No confrontation in Cent Pac, but breaking news in Burma.

NORTH PAC

No invasions have materialized. My recon must have been wrong - the transports I spotted must have actually been the surface TF that sunk my AVD at Attu.

CENT PAC

KB (East) didn't challenge my LBA at Canton Island. It was last spotted on the 21st. From where it was (W of Canton Island) and where I have recon assets, I suspect it's going N or NW - probably towards Kwaj or Truk.

At Canton, forts are already up to 1. I withdrew most TFs when the Jap CVs were approaching, but sent 2 TFs back that still had a good deal of supply & fuel left onboard. Also, I just sent some forces to Sydney Island (dot base S of Canton).

There's at least 4 Jap subs nearby, and since KB doesn't seem to be coming I am sending a small number of my bombers (20%) on naval search. Hopefully I can get a hit or two. So far the subs have sunk AP Chaumont & 1 or 2 AKs (I forget). 1 other AK damaged. I was expecting worse on Operation Dim Sum, so I'm not too worried about these losses.

I also realized I sent too much AV support to Canton. AF is size 3 and I don't want to expand it and give him a Betty base if he re-invades soon. Also, I don't intend on overstacking the AF. With a full Aviation regiment there (270 AV), I've loaded about 100 or so AV and am shipping it to Palmyra.

Canton Island is nice to have, but I intend to make Johnston-Palmyra-Christmas impregnable.

I had my carriers hanging around in the background for a few days, in case an opportunity arose. Today I ordered Enterprise to PH (sys damage 8). Yorktown & Sara are headed to So Pac. I may send one of them to the DEI.

SO PAC

Extremely quiet. I was about to send Lex on a raid at detected Jap shipping near New Caledonia, but on the 20th SS Argonaut spotted a Betty overhead when dropping off some mines at Noumea. AF size there is now 4. Lady Lex was 1 day away from serious risk. She's currently sailing east - I'll send her to PH or the WC to repair a bit (8 SYS damage - same as Enterprise.)

At this point, Pat should have a firm grip on New Caledonia & the New Hebrides before I can do anything about it. [:(] However I intend to keep a strong grip of Fiji, Samoa & surrounding islands. I'll at least fight for them hard if he comes there.

Another downside - I'd been sending Oz resupply TFs just N of New Zealand. But that's just within Betty range from Noumea. They're now diverting to Wellington.

KB (West) also disppeared from this area. Last heading NE, but that should have put it in range of my recon - maybe back NW to continue covering the Solomons? Just speculation, really.

SW PAC

With maybe half a dozen US Fleet subs, I've got a little operation going. Subs load mines at Sydney, drop them off somewhere in New Cal/New Hebrides/Solomons, pick up fragments from New Guinea/New Britain, drop the fragments at Brisbane, head to Sydney & continue. I've saved fragments of all dislodged units & the NGVR batallion has now been recovered in full. (All 8% of it!)

DEI

Also mostly quiet. I've continued with my nuisance air raids - targetting oil & resources mostly (occassionally airfields). I'm trying to vary both targets & bases, only flying my heavies once every 2 or 3 days to keep fatigue down & morale up.

One interesting piece of Sigint appeared on the 22nd: 1st Parachute Regiment is loaded on AP, Kiko Maruand is coming here! (Manado) On the 24th a small convoy appeared at Manado - subs are closing in - an S boat is 1 day out. I've detected no other sigint or naval movement so it looks like he's preparing for an isolated land grab as opposed to something larger in the Banda sea area. Hope so - I've recently sent an Aussie brigade & a Dutch batallion from Timor to Java. Not much I can do to reinforce right now, either, but I should have enough at all the bases I care about to fend off a paradrop.

I'm about 2 weeks away from launching Operation Pipedream II. Developments in Burma may make me change those plans though.

MALAYA

I staged 3 squadrons of B-17s from Singapore for a few days targetting the airfield at Saigon & Malayan resources. In retaliation he bombed Singapore from Georgetown & Palembang. No significant damge to the Allies, and flak shot down 9 Sallys & 2 Helens. If he comes back again, 2 squadrons of AVG will be flying CAP today.

He's also continuing to garrison his resources, which was another unstated goal of my commando raids. The game doesn't enforce garrison requirements in the DEI, but I can.

Singapore forts now at 8, 34% of the way to 9! [:)]

PHIL

A deliberate attack against Manila on the 20th was followed by this on the 22nd:

Ground combat at Manila
Japanese Shock attack
Attacking force 139720 troops, 896 guns, 175 vehicles Attack on the 18th - 149719 troops, 1118 guns, 201 vehicles
Defending force 52726 troops, 348 guns, 104 vehicles Also on the 18th - 58530 troops, 386 guns, 113 vehicles
Japanese assault odds: 0 to 1 (fort level 0)
Japanese ground losses:
3496 casualties reported
Guns lost 84
Vehicles lost 9
Allied ground losses:
1923 casualties reported
Guns lost 24
Vehicles lost 4

Doug & friends are still holding out, but are slowly wearing down. Supplies down to 8233, AV to 1085. Without more Japanese reinforcements, Manila should hold as long as the supplies do. At an avg of 400/day that's about 21 days or March 17th. My goal is the 15th. I'm also trying to sneak in another AK with 4000 supplies under the cover of stormy weather. It's 3 days out.

On the seas, S-boats sink a Jap AP off San Marcelino on both the 23rd & 24th.

CHINA

Nanchang pocket has been successfully relieved. We have stalemates at both Ichang and Nanchang, where we trade bombardments. Until I detect any flanking maneuvers, I'll keep these up in order to train the Chinese. I'll be rotating some units in & out of Nanchang. I'm starting to understand this theater more, though I did make a mistake in the north.

BURMA

One of the divisions on the trail to Moulmein is spotted in Rahaeng on the 23rd! It looks like he's withdrawing his troops. An OSS agent stationed at the US Embassy in Switzerland gets a report (actually, Pat's email) that tends to confirm this, but I'll wait to make sure. Where are they going? In his shoes I'd be looking at reinforcing the Manila attack to end resistance in the Phillipines. Is the Burma area army (or whatever it's called) a restricted command?

My plans are this: Wait to make sure the withdrawal is real & not a feint, and then withdraw all my Moulmein forces to Rangoon for R&R. I'll leave 2 BFs and a Chinese div split in thirds at Moulmein. Once his Burma forces are committed elsewhere I'll counterattack towards central Thailand. It's a win-win situation for me - I either take a couple bases & threaten Bangkok, or he commits SAA assets to stop me. In March & April I'd much rather fight the Southern Area Army in Thailand than on the shores of India, Oz or Fiji.

I now have anti-para garrisons (or more) at all the Burma bases. This was delayed when I reset the movement of one of the Chinese Divs when it was halfway down a trail hex, but no harm done.

INDIA

Slowly building up. Some Singapore evacuees are starting to head here. (Instead of pulling out fragments of everything, I'm concentrating on one unit & sub evacing that one unit to Java until it's large enough to be the parent & can draw reinforcements. It's then sent on APs to India. Doing the same with Manila evacs though those are going Manila-Balikpapan-Oz.)

The 2nd UK Div arrives in 18 days. The 18th is currently helping build forts at Dacca. With Singapore still strongly held & most of Burma still in my hands, I'm considering sending the 2nd UK to Burma instead of India. We'll see.

That's all for now.

[Rob Brennan UK]

Vehicles lost 3k YIKES .. how many did you have in manilla [:D][:D][:D].

HEhe .. seriously though . i'd get a full div to canton and build up with many engineers asap, i do like the place as allies and with noumea gone you really will have a long run to OZ and suva eyc will become isolated if you lose both places. just my 2p though.

I havnt looked at the map to confirm but LR cap from aukland might cover convoys that get within betty range of noumea as zeros cany fly that far ! iirc .. should deter lr raids . also shortens the run a bit.

use of subs in the solomons etc. great move , worthy of a mine laying supremo [;)]

and good luck as ever

[ctangus]

Oops - don't know how that got there. Wish I had enough so that I could lose 3K vehicles! [:)]

Once the forts build up some more (4 or 5) I'm considering putting more into Canton. There's not a lot closeby to support it though and I don't want to risk a lot. I recently read someone's tactic (forget who) of invading Palmyra on the cheap, waiting for the US counter-attack, and coming back strong and wiping out a Div or 2.

Good idea re the LRCAP from Auckland - I think you're right on the ranges. One possible problem is that I run a lot of little TFs and could have as many as 3 or 4 nearby at any time, and don't have that many fighter squadrons to spare. Although you gave me an idea - send the fuel & supplies N of New Zealand, covering with the LRCAP. If I screw up, no big loss. He'll also spot the shipping and think that's where the convoys are running. Send the troops & planes via Wellington - a little longer but a lot safer.

Like you, I like my mines. [;)] Did I mention, 3500+ in Soerabaja now?

[Rob Brennan UK]

3500 in soerbaja ! amazing . i always have problems minig my home ports .. have to re-set home base sail out then come back to mine .. its why i lost my ml's eventually .. too fiddly.

if he invades soerbaja hes in for a shock but i'd doubt it .. the CD there is tough. more likely kragen ( which i build up) or batavia.

nice idea about the transports by the way, clever . mislead the enemy and get advance warning for the valuable troop convoys. Emilys however might spot them from noumea.

[ctangus]

For home port mining, put the TF on cruise speed & make sure there's a slooow ship in the TF. Once it's set up it takes about 20 seconds a turn to maintain - replenish the TF & set the destination to the home port. The TF will mine the hex but won't have enough Op points left to leave.

Kragen's getting attention too, as well as Tjilijap in case he tries to come in the back door. Batavia was, but it's not safe to sail there now. I'm mining Soerabaja not because I expect an invasion there (I don't) but I intend to pull back there once he's established somewhere on Java and I do expect naval bombardments. A mine hit on a CA or BB might just discourage that some. And would be oh, so satisfying. [:'(]

CENT PAC

My troops are landing at Sydney Island. The forts at Canton are increasing rapidly - I'm reconsidering my decision not to heavily garrison it. At the same time, I don't have a lot of ground forces to spare. A few reinforcements scheduled in the next 2 months. I also might start prepping one of the West Coast Divs. After furiously spending PPs the first couple months, I'm now trying to hoard them.

SS S-34, 120 miles off Truk, puts two fish into AP Shanghai Maru, sinking it. Floating debris collected after the attack confirmed that elements of the 25th Special Base Force were aboard.

Most of the forces involved in Operation Dim Sum are back to Pearl, with Enterprise & escorts 1 day away. I sent a small ASW TF towards So Pac. In a few days I'll do a more thorough review of my naval deployments.

SOUTH PAC

Japanese land at Efate on the 26th.

SW PAC/OZ

Yawn. A lot of air reinforcements are now arriving. I'd been sending most of them to the Darwin/DEI, but Av support is now becoming a limiting factor in that theater, so most the forces arriving now will be used to garrison the east coast of Oz for the moment.

One potential problem - I want to keep as many fronts open on the air war as possible. I would lose an uber battle at the moment, so I want to force him to disperse, where I can have opportunities for local superiority. With my opponent holding the line of PM - New Caledonia - New Hebrides there's not much I can do in the air other than send some heavies against Port Moresby.

With that in mind, I really want to keep a toe hold in the DEI. I'm considering shifting the So Pac/SW Pac boundary and giving So Pac the additional responsibility of East coast Oz defense and sending all of SW PAC to the DEI. However, that decision won't be made until after Manila falls & I know where those 5 Japanese divisions are headed.

DEI

With Pipedream II coming up, I'm starting my effort to clear the skies over Sumatra. On the 26th 2 squadrons of B-17s from Soerabaja strike the airfield at Palembang. 2 zeros are shot down air-to-air and 10 destroyed on the ground, as well as 2 Sallys. 1 B-17 is shot down in return, though 10 are damaged. Among the Japanese flying is the Oita Training Daitai. That's a low experience, home islands based Daitai, isn't it?

Total air losses for the day were 21 Japanese and 7 allied.

A newly arrived B-26 squadron attacks Sinkawing from Kuching. 3 runway hits is all. It will continue.

I'm ordering 3 squadrons of B-17s, staging from Batavia and escorted by an AVG squadron, to attack Palembang on the 27th. Hopefully I'll continue to get results like that on the 26th. Also, I'm hoping to set up a trap for the next day. I'd expect a retaliatory raid against Batavia on the 28th and will have 2 AVG squadrons and a squadron each of P-40s and P-39s flying CAP.

I currently have both a slow BB TF and fast BB TF (Force Z) at Soerabaja. I'm ordering the slow TF to bombard Palembang. 3 Brewster squadrons at various bases are flying LRCAP. I'm hoping for destroyed planes, intel on the coastal defenses there, and experience gains for my ships. It should strike in 3 days.

I also noticed I'm low on Brit DDs with good night fighting ability for Force Z. 2 DDs based at Ceylon, formerly escorts for Indomitable, are ordered to Soerabaja. In exchange 3 Dutch DDs with low night experience but relatively high AA are ordered to Ceylon.

PHIL

On the 25th, 3 days after the last attack, the Japanese assault Manila again. I thought he'd wait a little longer after his unsuccessful shock attack:

Ground combat at Manila
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 134535 troops, 802 guns, 164 vehicles
Defending force 51103 troops, 340 guns, 102 vehicles
Japanese assault odds: 0 to 1 (fort level 0)
Japanese ground losses:
1834 casualties reported
Guns lost 35
Vehicles lost 3
Allied ground losses:
1665 casualties reported
Guns lost 31
Vehicles lost 3

Supplies - 6342. AV 1026. The number of his troops attacking are dropping dramatically, he must have a lot of disablements, but he's suffering fewer casualties too. I'm not sure what to make of the situation here. I'll probably watch the next combat replay to see exactly what the odds are now. I'm looking forward to the excitement - 56th Div attacking!!!

CHINA

One nice little victory:

Day Air attack on Hong Kong , at 43,42
Allied aircraft
IL-4c x 6
No Allied losses
Japanese Ships
DD Hatsukari, Bomb hits 1, on fire Heavy damage reported

On the ground, bombardments are still being traded at Nanchang & Ichang, but nothing major is happening.

My supply situation in general here is very good, but there's local shortages, particularly in the north. I have 2 transport squadrons based at Chungking flying supplies to Honan, which is deeply in the red. On the 25th I ordered 4 badly depleted Chinese corps (2 each from Honan & Sian) to Chungking. It will be a long march over the mountain trails, but it should reduce the supply requirements in the north, they wouldn't help the defense there much and they'll be able to rebuild relatively quickly at Chungking.

4 RAF bomber squadrons are now flying supplies into the south from India. There's a few bases there that are in the pink for supplies.

BURMA

No new Japanese units have retreated from the trail hex between Moulmein & Rahaeng. I still think it's a general Japanese withdrawal but I'm holding my forces at Moulmein for the moment. The troops are anxious to enjoy the nightlife at Rangoon, however.

One Chinese Div already at Rangoon is split into brigades and will relieve some of the garrisons deeper in Burma. Those garrisons will also head to Rangoon for R&R.

[Rob Brennan UK]

Thx for the ML tips .. didnt know that .. thanks. PH will get a top up

IL4's carry big bombs iirc .. 500kg i think .. can ruin a DD or even a sub if you catch one in port [;)]. HK can be a good target and it helps disperses his fighters too.

The range of allied a/c will be a problem for a multi front campaign esp in the pacific. SW pac to The Dei ? novel approach . would work too if you have enough time.

[ctangus]

You're welcome Rob. There's a ton of nuances to this game - think I might know 40% of them now!

Yup on the IL4s. I'm also trying to hit Taan harbor with SB2s, but they haven't flown yet (supply & morale probs I expect.) To disperse CAP I'm flying lots of little strikes, in as many areas as I can, varying both bases & targets. I've gotten hurt a time or two (mostly ignored by me in this AAR [;)]) but mostly I've been doing well with it.

The historical SW PAC area of operations is pretty well closed off to me for a while, I think. Without LBA fighter cover, I don't see it would be safe to move there until after the 10/42 CV upgrades. Also I have P-38s then and could cover PM from Thursday Island, if I still hold it. But I definitely want to keep fighting before then. If he goes further into So Pac, I'd have the opportunity. I don't think he will, though. He's got to finish taking the SRA and I'd expect that's where he'll head once Manila falls.

I'm thinking a bit as I write here - if I don't keep a second air front open, he can mass in CBI and I can lose the advantages I have there until now. I'm beginning to think I should have reinforced Timor more than Java. I expect I'll give him a big bloody nose in Java, but don't see how I'll hold it for good. I'm not going to change those plans now, though.

With support from northern Oz, Timor could be possible to hold. There's also the non-malarial bases NE of Darwin, but on AB's map they start with AF size 0. I reviewed what I have for ground troops - there's not much I can reinforce with there currently. I do have the 6th AIF Div arriving in the Middle East in 15 days. Maybe I'll send that to Koepang. Or split it between the Timor bases.

I think I'll have the time. He hasn't made any moves in the DEI for quite a while now. I don't know the full Jap OOB well but I think he's using most of his naval infantry either in So Pac, or in Singapore (he sent a lot there when his JB landing was in jeopardy.) I don't expect major further moves until after Manila falls.

OK, back to the war:

Feb 27, 1942

SW PAC

The Oz brigade ejected from PM arrived at Buna today. There's one Japanese unit there. With an AV of 20 and a few supplies left, they're ordered to recon by shock attack. While it wouldn't mean much in the long run, I'd get a great kick if there's only a BF there and I take the base.

DEI

My efforts to clear the skies over Sumatra started well:

Day Air attack on Palembang , at 20,55
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 28
Allied aircraft
P-40B Tomahawk x 20
B-17D Fortress x 12
B-17E Fortress x 24
Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 11 destroyed, 6 damaged
Ki-21-II Sally: 3 destroyed
Allied aircraft losses
P-40B Tomahawk: 5 destroyed
B-17D Fortress: 9 damaged
B-17E Fortress: 1 destroyed, 13 damaged
Japanese ground losses:
109 casualties reported
Guns lost 3
Airbase supply hits 5
Runway hits 48

Total air losses for the day were 13 allied & 34 Japanese. Between air to air & ground lossses, 17 zeros were destroyed. For the war, I now have a 2 plane advantage in A2A!

Recon reports that all Japanese bombers departed from Palembang & more fighters are there instead. I also have a bunch of damaged B-17s at Batavia which need to rest. Instead of setting a fighter trap at Batavia I'm standing down these forces on the 28th. On the 1st, the slow BB TF will bombard Palembang at night. 2 squadrons of AVG will then sweep. B-17s from Batavia & Singapore will bomb the AF, with P-39s and P-40s from Singkep and Teleoktttkfguekfbang (or however it's spelled) flying LRCAP. The 3rd squadron of AVG might be thrown into the mix as well, depending on how many of its planes it gets operational. Waiting til the 1st also gives me another decrease in the zero bonus.

More nuisance airraids elsewhere are ordered for the 28th.

BURMA

More news here. Recon reports the 2nd Yobi Eki regt heading up to Burma by the back door. I have one Chinese brigade as an anti-para force at the nearest base. I'm not sure if that's a recon in force or perhaps he intends to send his whole Burma army up there. I hope it's the latter - it would make operation Pipedream II more secure & I think I could make him pay for that.

No more Japanese units have left the trail hex between Moulmein & Rahaeng. My Moulmein forces are still holding in place.

I am going to send one base force, priorly building up Ansanol, to Taung Gyi. It will help build up the forts and is almost maxed out on its infantry complement, which will also stiffen the defense there. This unit will be flown in by 3 RCAF Catalina squadrons which will be arriving at Diamond Harbour within 1-5 days.

Pic is below.

I'm starting to think of more rash ideas in this theater. Brits into Thailand, Chinese to Vietnam? No decisions have been made, but it's fun thinking about it. [:)]

[ctangus]

Another turn waiting, so I don't want to take too long, but I just have to update, since there's lots of good news.

Ship losses so far, changes for the month in bold.

Allied BBs - 1

Allied CAs - 1
Jap CAs - 2

Allied CLs - 6 (+ 1)
Jap CLs - 4

Allied DDs - 5 (+ 1)
Jap DDs - 18 (+ 1)

Allied Subs - 5 (+ 3)
Jap Subs - 8 (+ 4)

Allied TKs/AOs - 12 (+ ?)
Jap TKs/AOs - 2 (+ 2 IIRC)

Allied transports - A lot - (+ a bunch)
Jap transports - Not quite as much - (+ a handful)

Aircraft losses for the month were great:

Allied losses - 262
Jap losses - 455

Most of that was due to Operation Pipedream. He forward deployed to hit my transports, and I struck his airfields in return. Total aircraft losses are now in the allies favor. [:)]

It gets much better on the first of March.

Here's the intel screen:

[ctangus]

28/2/42 - 1/3/42

The main action was in the DEI, but I'll come to that in due course.

CENT PAC

I'm withdrawing some of the air from Canton Island, and sending it to Midway, Johnston, Palmyra. I'm using only B-25s & B-26s in this theater - heavies don't have the range to reach any of his bases currently & the medium bombers should hurt any shipping almost as much as the heavies, should he decide to come back here.

SO PAC/SW PAC

A Marine Aviation Wing is unloading at Suva. That will give me 270 Av Support at Suva and 60 at Nandi.

On the 28th, the 30th Aus Brigade attacked at Buna. No luck. [:(] I've evac'd a cadre via sub & will continue to attack periodically. I'll eat up some of his supply at least.

DEI

Whoever said the old Brit battleships weren't any good:

Naval bombardment of Palembang, at 20,55
Japanese aircraft
no flights
Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-21-II Sally: 5 destroyed
A6M2 Zero: 13 destroyed
G3M Nell: 6 destroyed
Allied Ships
CL De Ruyter
CL Java
CA Houston
BB Royal Sovereign
BB Revenge
Japanese ground losses:
1764 casualties reported
Guns lost 63
Airbase hits 14
Airbase supply hits 5
Runway hits 109

That was followed up by airstrikes from all over. Planes from 9 airfields flew airfield attack, LRCAP, Sweep, escort & recon missions. It included 6 heavy bomber squadrons, 5 medium, 10 fighter squadrons & others. No overstacking, either. Mostly Palembang was targetted, but also Sinkawing & Johore Bahru.

Recon now reports 92 airfield damage at Palembang, 60 at Sinkawing & 66 at Johore Bahru. That should close them all. Better yet, total air losses for 1 March were 10 allied (8 Ops losses) & 106 Japanese (100 on field). [:'(] I didn't kill many pilots, but I'll still take it.

The Palembang invasion is 10-14 days away. I was going to land at Teleoktdhghgiabnag (the march would require a river crossing), but now am considering landing direclty on Palembang. I'll decide last minute.

With at least temporary air superiority, I'm sending some supplies to Singapore. I also loaded one of the Brit Air HQs at Singapore in full and am sending it to Batavia. One will be kept at Singapore for now. If I do re-take Palembang, the supply lines to Singapore should be quite secure & I'll stage a lot of air from there. Up to now I've been doing that only periodically in order to limit supply usage.

30+ bombers are still at JB, despite the (reported) AF damage. I'm not sure if that's faulty reocn or an oversight on Pat's part. On the 2nd, 2 Heavy & 4 Medium bomber squadrons will be attacking.

I'm also sending a few bombers to attack the oil & resources at Palembang. A leak via a neutral embassy (my email) told my opponent that my recent actions were to make my strategic bombing easier. I don't want him thinking that I'll try to take the base.

PHIL

He's bombing the heck out of me at Manila. Mostly unescorted, but my AF is closed. If it slows down a little I'll stage some CAP in. Supplies are now down to 4952.

OTHER

An interesting bit of Sigint today: radio transmissions reported at Calgary! [&:][:D]

[Rob Brennan UK]

Your going to re-invade palembang in march 1942 ! wow!

Nice going with the co-ordinated air attacks. I cant understand how you got enough a/c in theatre for air superiority[&o][&o]. Whats did you strip ? also im suprised that the zero is so bad as he still has a small bonus in march. I tend to wait till may/june before tangling in big numbers or i find all my a/c die rapidly.

BTW lubberly raid with the old brit BB's shame winnie wants one back. just dont get them sunk or the pp hit will be enormous [:D]

and the losses are amazing too. 18 jap DD's thats just plain careless [;)]

"Allied transports - A lot - (+ a bunch)
Jap transports - Not quite as much - (+ a handful) "

LOL .. i hate counting the buggers too. tip tip .. screen is 16 ships long. scroll down and count in multiples of 16. bit of a pain but do-able.

[&o] you are doing v v well .. have an apple [;)]

[ctangus]

LOL Rob - I'll go have that apple. Thanks for the tip on counting the ships.

Yes, I'm reinvading Palembang in Mar 42. I expect it will succeed if I maintain surprise. It won't if he gets reinforcements in, but that would slow him down somewhere else and he'd have to run the gauntlet of my LBA. Even if it doesn't succeed I consider it low risk (my combat units will have multiple retreat paths), high reward in terms of damaged resources and the support I can then give Singapore. If you think that's rash, wait until I lay out the plans for Operation Rubber Biscuit! [:)]

The air superiority is more due to # of airfields than # of planes. His early Johore Bahru invasion is coming back to hurt him. When the issue was in doubt there, he sent everything he could to JB and now 28 or so badly damaged units are besieging Singapore, and he doesn't have the troops to take more bases in N Borneo, etc. He raids my airfields from time to time and I've taken losses, but since I'm dispersed and he's concentrated my AF raids are much more effective than his. I've also mostly been flying small raids at undefended targets - I doubt he was expecting the sudden concentration of effort on my part.

Also keep in mind that in CHS everything is broken down into individual squadrons - I'm not talking groups. I have reinforced some from China (AVG), SEA and SW PAC. I'm also riding my replacement pools hard, particularly B-17s & P-40s. That might come back to haunt me, but I have an opportunity to cause some damage right now. As an example I have a total of 9 B-17 squadrons on the map. 1 So Pac unit at Suva, 5 SW Pac in Java, 3 SEA in Singapore & Rangoon. 19 in the pool. I still have 9 or 10 squadrons in backwater theaters in Bolos.

Mostly I'm not trying to tangle with the zero but will from time to time - any attrition helps IMO. On the 1st I was looking for trouble, and I was prepared for heavy losses in order to keep the zeros away from my bombers. My BBs were much more successful than I anticipated - only 1 zero was flying CAP by the time they finished.

Speaking of the BBs, yes I'm risking them but I think the risk of losing them both is relatively small. I think the risk of moderate damage is much higher, but that would just help me decide which one to send back.

[ctangus]

2/3/42 - 3/3/42

NORTH PAC

On the 2nd, Japanese landed at Attu and occupied it on the 3rd. Also on the 3rd, SS I-158 torpedoed an empty TK east of Dutch Harbor that was returning to Seattle. (She'll be fine.)

CL Raleigh and 5 DDs, as well as an AD, AS and 1 sub sortie from PH. I'll send a few more fleet boats when they return from patrols - maybe half a dozen total. Some Canadian ASW assets are also ordered to Dutch Harbor. No Pac fighter squadrons currently on the West Coast are flying north & 3 Bolo squadrons traded their planes in for B-25s & A-20s.

I don't plan to do much here, but don't want to get caught flatfooted either if he drives further.

CENT PAC/SO PAC/SW PAC/OZ

Arriving troops relax on the beaches, watching birds fly lazily in the warm tropical breezes. Scantily dressed natives bring them drinks with little umbrellas. Otherwise, not much going on.

DEI

I'm continuing my raids on the airfields of Palembang, Sinkawing and JB. At the same time I've stood down a few units and am sending 3+ bomber squadrons back to SEA.

I've also started significant strategic bombing of Palembang. In 2 days of bombing I've destroyed only 4 resources, but also 84 oil. Even started some fires! Only 25 - it won't mean a thing - but I don't think I've ever done that before.

AVG is splitting up again. One squadron heading towards Rangoon, another CAPing Singapore and another just upgraded to P-40Es at Soerabaja (in CHS, the E's have the same range as the B's, but better weaponry).

A small, unescorted, Japanese Betty raid struck Lautern from Amboina on the 3rd. P-40Bs from Darwin will fly CAP tomorrow.

The two old Brit BBs & company have replenished at Batavia and will hit Palembang again on the 4th. For the sake of variety, I'll probably send them Singkawang next trip, and then back to Palembang to support the assault.

Operation Pipedream II, the re-conquest of Palembang, gets nearer to launching. The last unit loads at Soerabaja tomorrow (I forgot to send transports for them.) I'll land the troops at Teleoktebuango & march from there. A direct landing is much more exposed. Significantly Japanese recon spotted none of my TFs south of Toboali on either the 2nd or 3rd. I think I can unload my troops undetected.

Picture of Sumatra & my plans there attached.

PHIL

Manila is assaulted again on the 2nd:

Ground combat at Manila
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 135228 troops, 785 guns, 167 vehicles
Defending force 48171 troops, 313 guns, 90 vehicles
Japanese assault odds: 0 to 1 (fort level 0)
Japanese ground losses:
1687 casualties reported
Guns lost 34
Vehicles lost 4
Allied ground losses:
994 casualties reported
Guns lost 52
Vehicles lost 3

Adjusted odds were 1162 vs 3137. Last time I watched, those odds were closer to 1 to 4. Slowly but surely the brave defenders of Manila are wearing down. Supply is now 4963, AV 989.

MALAYA/BURMA

I'm ordering 2 fighter sweeps for the 4th against bases that I believe have Oscars flying CAP.

One interesting bit of intelligence - the resources at JB are repairing. I thought he might be low on supply in the area, but he's got at least 10K at JB. Must be the great munitions factories of Kuala Lumpur. Once Pipedream II is over I'll start targetting Malayan resources again. (He took them mostly intact, but I've destroyed roughly 20% through my commando raids & sporadic bombing - mostly the bombing.)

A Japanese Div & brigade are still marching north towards Tuang Gyi & are now in the first of 2 trail hexes.

6 Japanese units, including 1 Div, are still between Moulmein & Rahaeng. I allowed one brigade of the Moulmein defenders (the most malarial) to take R&R at Rangoon. I had been bombing those Japanese sporadically to slow down their movement but I've stopped that. Now, I want to know where they're going.

[ctangus]

Well, I wish all my success could be attributed to my brilliance, but I've been invaded by the Uber-Pilots!

[ctangus]

The unit above is defined in the database to come in at 50 exp. It's the most extreme example, but there's many similar.

Anyway I saw this thread, and then checked my units:

tm.asp?m=1098499

I've pulled many V high exp pilots. I posted more details on Pat's half of this AAR. I have 2 1.795 opponents and wanted to make sure both knew about it at the very least and so I info'd them. Pat asked for a restart & I agreed. The other game vs. Mistmatz is earlier & it looks like it will continue.

Despite my uber-pilots, I think I can take some credit for my success. [:)]

We'll probably try Nik's mod, which I've been wanting to check out, but I don't have time for an additional PBEM.

Well, I've enjoyed the game & hope anyone reading has enjoyed the AAR!