December 27, 1941 -
Treespider is quite tenacious and does not let adversity slow him down. His damaged APDs off of Sumatra were pounded again by British and Dutch bombers, and two APDs finally sank. But he sent another fast TF to Jambi, and this time the only thing that saved me was that he forgot to set his troops to "unload". My LBA missed the cruiser and destroyers in that TF, but they did bomb a Japanese PC that was sailing along on its own nearby.
A Dutch sub also got in some practice off of Mersing where it put torpedoes into an AP and an AK. The escorts damaged the sub a bit. Mersing still got bombarded. The combat unit that landed there isn't too big, so it only did a bombardment this turn. At the same time it appears that Treespider intends to cut my forces in half in Malaya by sending an LCU to Malacca. I'm just going to let things go for now and see how long my troops can hold out. The troops at Alor Star, for example, withstood another Deliberate attack this turn.
Treespider also surprised me by landing troops at Sorong instead of Amboina. He sent bombers to hit the airport at Amboina but they didn't do much damage, so the Dutch planes attacked the troopships. Unfortunately, there were no hits. What was interesting about this attack was that the Dutch planes were met by some Claudes. On first thought, this seemed like an opportunity for a carrier raid, but afterwards while I was examining the map in detail a TF appeared north of Amboina that Intelligence stated contained at least 4 CVs!!! Is Intelligence all buggered up again, or has Treespider sent a large part of the KB into the DEI? Just in case, I ordered my front line forces back a ways until I can figure out what the truth really is in this case.
China continued to be a mess, but there were no new attacks and no additional threats. In Burma my troops continue to retreat in good order. And in India my initial troop movements are just about set. The situation isn't good, but it beats a "kick in the pants".
Dave Baranyi
A Canuck in the Pacific - ADavidB vs Treespider
Moderators: wdolson, Don Bowen, mogami
APD Graveyard...
December 28, 1941 -
This was a relatively quiet turn, by the standards of this game. More Japanese troops landed at Mersing and Rabaul, Amboina received another naval bombardment, lots of Japanese subs showed up off of the coast of California and Hawaii, and some Japanese troops unloaded at Memtok. But I bet that last one was a case of Treespider unloading troops from a badly damaged APD.
Speaking of those Japanese APDs, a couple of my subs got shots at them, but missed. Then the Dutch LBA got a chance and didn't miss, hitting two more APDs hard, resulting in one of them sinking. There was overall a fair amount of air action this turn, particularly in Malaya and the DEI. For some reason air action has died out a lot in the Philippines.
A large, heavily escorted attack by LBA from Kuching hit Palembang, hurting the CAP but not doing a lot of damage. Then another unescorted flight of Nells from Kuching went to Soerabaja and got hit hard themselves by the Dutch. In China, my bombers are flying fairly regularly and without much opposition. Treespider may just be focusing upon the land effort.
Speaking of land effort in China, Treespider is trying more maneuvers in an attempt to isolate some of my bases. The latest target appears to be Ichang, although more Japanese land units have shown up near Yenen recently. I'm equally busy moving Chinese combat units around to counter the Japanese moves. In land attacks, the Japanese finally tool Alor Star. Japanese troops also captured Sorong. That big Japanese CV TF is still hanging around just above Sorong, so I'm not sending anything into that area.
The odd sighting of the day was a reported Japanese "CA" at Rennell Island in the Eastern Solomons. I don't know how my forces were supposed to have spotted it because it appears to be out of range of all of my naval search planes. It's probably just a Japanese sub, but in case it isn't, I'm sending a force towards Rennell just in case the sighting is really a Japanese TF that is trying to establish a forward base.
Dave Baranyi
This was a relatively quiet turn, by the standards of this game. More Japanese troops landed at Mersing and Rabaul, Amboina received another naval bombardment, lots of Japanese subs showed up off of the coast of California and Hawaii, and some Japanese troops unloaded at Memtok. But I bet that last one was a case of Treespider unloading troops from a badly damaged APD.
Speaking of those Japanese APDs, a couple of my subs got shots at them, but missed. Then the Dutch LBA got a chance and didn't miss, hitting two more APDs hard, resulting in one of them sinking. There was overall a fair amount of air action this turn, particularly in Malaya and the DEI. For some reason air action has died out a lot in the Philippines.
A large, heavily escorted attack by LBA from Kuching hit Palembang, hurting the CAP but not doing a lot of damage. Then another unescorted flight of Nells from Kuching went to Soerabaja and got hit hard themselves by the Dutch. In China, my bombers are flying fairly regularly and without much opposition. Treespider may just be focusing upon the land effort.
Speaking of land effort in China, Treespider is trying more maneuvers in an attempt to isolate some of my bases. The latest target appears to be Ichang, although more Japanese land units have shown up near Yenen recently. I'm equally busy moving Chinese combat units around to counter the Japanese moves. In land attacks, the Japanese finally tool Alor Star. Japanese troops also captured Sorong. That big Japanese CV TF is still hanging around just above Sorong, so I'm not sending anything into that area.
The odd sighting of the day was a reported Japanese "CA" at Rennell Island in the Eastern Solomons. I don't know how my forces were supposed to have spotted it because it appears to be out of range of all of my naval search planes. It's probably just a Japanese sub, but in case it isn't, I'm sending a force towards Rennell just in case the sighting is really a Japanese TF that is trying to establish a forward base.
Dave Baranyi
RE: APD Graveyard...
December 29, 1941 -
Things have settled down into a pattern - Treespider advances, my forces snipe at his advancing forces, his forces capture their objective. So while my forces continue to be a nuisance, they aren't changing the overall flow of the Game. And that is to be expected at this stage. In fact, this is the stage of the early Game where the Allied player has the best opportunities for effective nuisance attacks because the Japanese player has still to get his major reinforcements and also has a lot of targets on which to spread the attacks. It's later on in 1942 when the Japanese player can afford to apply devastatingly concentrated forces on a few targets.
So there was a lot of give-and-take in this turn. S-36 torpedoed an AK off of Camranh Bay but was depth charged in return and heavily damaged. My ASW hit I-173 off of Pearl. A previously damaged Japanese AP sank at Rabaul. In a case of the Hunted catching the Hunter, I-19 torpedoed a US ASW DD off of LA. And finally, KXI torpedoed another of the damaged APDs from the aborted invasion of Sumatra.
Amboina and Brunei received naval bombardments again, but troops only landed at Brunei. That Japanese CV TF is still sitting just north of Sarong, which keeps me at a distance. I still haven't found out what the Japanese TF is that is sitting at Rennell Island, but I'm getting closer to finding out.
For some reason, Treespider has been leaving the Philippines pretty much alone recently. My troops are using the respite to build up defenses at Bataan, Clark and Manila. There haven't been a lot of recent air strikes either, so supply at those three bases is holding out fairly well. Malaya, on the other hand, has been getting a fair amount of attention, with plenty of air raids and artillery bombardments at Mersing.
China is getting by far the bulk of Treespider's attention at this time. He is bringing lots of troops up to Wuchow and tried a Deliberate attack this turn that was fairly effective. I may not be able to hold Wuchow; it takes too long to bring troops in from the North and my Southern troops are all committed. Treespider has eased off the pressure on Changsha, but he still has too many troops there for me to pull any of my own out, and he is still trying to outflank me. And there are a number of troops getting in position to attack Ichang and Yenen too. China will obviously take way too much of my attention for some time to come.
And finally, the 26 Japanese survivors of a damaged APD who landed at Muntok captured it this turn. If I get the chance I'll let my bombers practice on them a bit.
Dave Baranyi
Things have settled down into a pattern - Treespider advances, my forces snipe at his advancing forces, his forces capture their objective. So while my forces continue to be a nuisance, they aren't changing the overall flow of the Game. And that is to be expected at this stage. In fact, this is the stage of the early Game where the Allied player has the best opportunities for effective nuisance attacks because the Japanese player has still to get his major reinforcements and also has a lot of targets on which to spread the attacks. It's later on in 1942 when the Japanese player can afford to apply devastatingly concentrated forces on a few targets.
So there was a lot of give-and-take in this turn. S-36 torpedoed an AK off of Camranh Bay but was depth charged in return and heavily damaged. My ASW hit I-173 off of Pearl. A previously damaged Japanese AP sank at Rabaul. In a case of the Hunted catching the Hunter, I-19 torpedoed a US ASW DD off of LA. And finally, KXI torpedoed another of the damaged APDs from the aborted invasion of Sumatra.
Amboina and Brunei received naval bombardments again, but troops only landed at Brunei. That Japanese CV TF is still sitting just north of Sarong, which keeps me at a distance. I still haven't found out what the Japanese TF is that is sitting at Rennell Island, but I'm getting closer to finding out.
For some reason, Treespider has been leaving the Philippines pretty much alone recently. My troops are using the respite to build up defenses at Bataan, Clark and Manila. There haven't been a lot of recent air strikes either, so supply at those three bases is holding out fairly well. Malaya, on the other hand, has been getting a fair amount of attention, with plenty of air raids and artillery bombardments at Mersing.
China is getting by far the bulk of Treespider's attention at this time. He is bringing lots of troops up to Wuchow and tried a Deliberate attack this turn that was fairly effective. I may not be able to hold Wuchow; it takes too long to bring troops in from the North and my Southern troops are all committed. Treespider has eased off the pressure on Changsha, but he still has too many troops there for me to pull any of my own out, and he is still trying to outflank me. And there are a number of troops getting in position to attack Ichang and Yenen too. China will obviously take way too much of my attention for some time to come.
And finally, the 26 Japanese survivors of a damaged APD who landed at Muntok captured it this turn. If I get the chance I'll let my bombers practice on them a bit.
Dave Baranyi
Going In Smooth...
December 30, 1941 -
Treespider commented that "things are going smoothly", despite his mishap with the APDs. Yeah, smooth, sort of "Bend over" smooth for the Allies… [X(]
But some small things are going okay for the Allies. Sub I-7 sank in the north Pacific from previous ASW attacks. A Japanese AK sank off of French Indo China. And another APD sank off of Borneo.
But, for the most part things went better for the Japanese. Dutch sub KXII was whacked hard at Mersing while trying to sneak up on a transport. Amboina and Brunei received more naval bombardments. An escorted air attack from Kuching blasted past the Dutch air defenses at Soerabaja and bombed the port, damaging several Dutch warships. Land-based Vals even attacked some Dutch PTs with shellfire.
In the land war, troops finally landed at Amboina. A shock attack at Brunei easily dislodged the defenders. A deliberate attack at Mersing failed, but did reduce the fortifications. Sieges started at Kuala Lumpur and Manila. In China, Changsha received an artillery bombardment and another deliberate attack at Wuchow did much worse than the previous one. But a large number of Japanese troops have now started to besiege Ichang. That is yet another location where it takes forever to send reinforcements. The situation in China could collapse very quickly.
In addition, lots of Japanese troops are moving into Burma. I think that I can get back to my planned defensive lines in time, but it could become touch-and-go since the Japanese troops can also use the rail line to accelerate their advance, even though they haven't yet captured any bases on the rail line. [8|] (Here's a really good part for someone to make better in WitP II.)
Dave Baranyi
Treespider commented that "things are going smoothly", despite his mishap with the APDs. Yeah, smooth, sort of "Bend over" smooth for the Allies… [X(]
But some small things are going okay for the Allies. Sub I-7 sank in the north Pacific from previous ASW attacks. A Japanese AK sank off of French Indo China. And another APD sank off of Borneo.
But, for the most part things went better for the Japanese. Dutch sub KXII was whacked hard at Mersing while trying to sneak up on a transport. Amboina and Brunei received more naval bombardments. An escorted air attack from Kuching blasted past the Dutch air defenses at Soerabaja and bombed the port, damaging several Dutch warships. Land-based Vals even attacked some Dutch PTs with shellfire.
In the land war, troops finally landed at Amboina. A shock attack at Brunei easily dislodged the defenders. A deliberate attack at Mersing failed, but did reduce the fortifications. Sieges started at Kuala Lumpur and Manila. In China, Changsha received an artillery bombardment and another deliberate attack at Wuchow did much worse than the previous one. But a large number of Japanese troops have now started to besiege Ichang. That is yet another location where it takes forever to send reinforcements. The situation in China could collapse very quickly.
In addition, lots of Japanese troops are moving into Burma. I think that I can get back to my planned defensive lines in time, but it could become touch-and-go since the Japanese troops can also use the rail line to accelerate their advance, even though they haven't yet captured any bases on the rail line. [8|] (Here's a really good part for someone to make better in WitP II.)
Dave Baranyi
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ny59giants
- Posts: 9902
- Joined: Mon Jan 10, 2005 12:02 pm
RE: Going In Smooth...
I don't know if this is possible for you now, but I have used a single AK to transport resources from Palembang to Singapore. They convert to supplies there and thus you don't have to try to run supplies in from India. I think it has helped one of my PBEM games build up the supply there to over 30k and growing
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[/center]RE: Going In Smooth...
ORIGINAL: ny59giants
I don't know if this is possible for you now, but I have used a single AK to transport resources from Palembang to Singapore. They convert to supplies there and thus you don't have to try to run supplies in from India. I think it has helped one of my PBEM games build up the supply there to over 30k and growing
Thanks for the suggestion, but I've got plenty of supplies in Singapore. I haven't been losing planes there, and rebuilding air groups is one of the biggest users of supply.
Right now my major priority is to get supplies and fuel to my intermediate staging bases. That is what will allow me to counter future Japanese advances. Malaya, the Philippines and the DEI are only places for me to slow down the Japanese, not to make a real stand. [;)]
Thanks again -
Dave Baranyi
New Year's Eve 1941 Celebrations...
December 31, 1941 -
New Year's Eve 1941 was relatively quiet in the Pacific. Another damaged Japanese APD sank in Kuching Harbor, bringing the total from Treespider's misadventure to five. And KXIV got past the escorts to put a torpedo into the side of a TK at the same base. At the same time the Japanese subs were conspicuous by their absence.
Generally rainy weather throughout the Far East minimized air missions for both sides. The biggest air raid was on Kendari, and it didn't accomplish a lot. All of the US fighter units are now safely beyond the Philippines and will eventually get opportunities to rebuild strength.
The most action was in the Land War, and much of that was maneuvering by both sides. The Japanese took an empty Rangoon while my forces retreated further into the jungles. I've started the pullout from Mandalay now too. As soon as Treespider takes Mandalay I'll start to bomb it. Amboina was also captured this turn.
Several Japanese land attacks didn't fare very well. A deliberate attack at Ichang failed miserably. It looks as if Ichang is the new main Japanese target in China. Troops are being pulled back from Changsha. One of my units drove that small Japanese unit away from the north of Changsha, so the base is fairly safe right now.
The Japanese only did an artillery bombardment at Wuchow this turn, and I've moved some of my troops in between the Japanese in Wuchow and the remaining Japanese troops to the South. I'm curious to see what this does to the supply situation of the Japanese troops in Wuchow.
In Malaya, a small Japanese unit tried another deliberate attack at Mersing that was fairly futile. I'm not sure why Treespider isn't trying to bring more troops forward if he wants to avoid a stalemate in Malaya. Oh well, I'll take this respite quite happily.
I am next going to post a series of screen captures of the situation on January 1, 1942.
Dave Baranyi
New Year's Eve 1941 was relatively quiet in the Pacific. Another damaged Japanese APD sank in Kuching Harbor, bringing the total from Treespider's misadventure to five. And KXIV got past the escorts to put a torpedo into the side of a TK at the same base. At the same time the Japanese subs were conspicuous by their absence.
Generally rainy weather throughout the Far East minimized air missions for both sides. The biggest air raid was on Kendari, and it didn't accomplish a lot. All of the US fighter units are now safely beyond the Philippines and will eventually get opportunities to rebuild strength.
The most action was in the Land War, and much of that was maneuvering by both sides. The Japanese took an empty Rangoon while my forces retreated further into the jungles. I've started the pullout from Mandalay now too. As soon as Treespider takes Mandalay I'll start to bomb it. Amboina was also captured this turn.
Several Japanese land attacks didn't fare very well. A deliberate attack at Ichang failed miserably. It looks as if Ichang is the new main Japanese target in China. Troops are being pulled back from Changsha. One of my units drove that small Japanese unit away from the north of Changsha, so the base is fairly safe right now.
The Japanese only did an artillery bombardment at Wuchow this turn, and I've moved some of my troops in between the Japanese in Wuchow and the remaining Japanese troops to the South. I'm curious to see what this does to the supply situation of the Japanese troops in Wuchow.
In Malaya, a small Japanese unit tried another deliberate attack at Mersing that was fairly futile. I'm not sure why Treespider isn't trying to bring more troops forward if he wants to avoid a stalemate in Malaya. Oh well, I'll take this respite quite happily.
I am next going to post a series of screen captures of the situation on January 1, 1942.
Dave Baranyi
Jan 1, 1942 Intelligence Screen
All things considered, this isn't as bad as it could be...
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- Jan1Inte..cesmall.jpg (111.45 KiB) Viewed 424 times
RE: Jan 1, 1942 China
Here's the situation in China...
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- Jan1Chinasmall.jpg (236.97 KiB) Viewed 424 times
RE: Jan 1, 1942 Burma
Here's the situation in Burma...
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- Jan1Burmasmall.jpg (167.69 KiB) Viewed 424 times
RE: Jan 1, 1942 Malaya
Here's the situation in Malaya...
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- Jan1Malayasmall.jpg (153.43 KiB) Viewed 424 times
RE: Jan 1, 1942 Philippines
Here's the situation in the Philippines...
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- Jan1Phil..essmall.jpg (137.17 KiB) Viewed 424 times
RE: Jan 1, 1942 DEI
Here's the situation in the DEI. The rest of the map isn't interesting enough to bother with right now.
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- Jan1DEIsmall.jpg (160.23 KiB) Viewed 424 times
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ny59giants
- Posts: 9902
- Joined: Mon Jan 10, 2005 12:02 pm
RE: Jan 1, 1942 DEI
What are you doing with the Chinese divisions assigned to SEAC?? Do you keep them in Yunan or send them on to India where there is plentiful supply to build up to full strength??
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[/center]RE: Jan 1, 1942 DEI
ORIGINAL: ny59giants
What are you doing with the Chinese divisions assigned to SEAC?? Do you keep them in Yunan or send them on to India where there is plentiful supply to build up to full strength??
On Day 1 I start them on the way to Lashio and Myitkyina. I time my British withdrawal from the south to allow them the time necessary to get into place. Along with the retreating Brit troops they can hold against most anything a Japanese player is silly enough to send again them, particularly since I can bomb attackers from multiple air bases.
Keeping the Burma Road open is critical to my effort in China, and also if good Japanese troops are being wasted in the Jungle, they aren't bothering me elsewhere. [:D]
Cheers -
Dave Baranyi
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ny59giants
- Posts: 9902
- Joined: Mon Jan 10, 2005 12:02 pm
RE: Jan 1, 1942 DEI
quote:
ORIGINAL: ny59giants
What are you doing with the Chinese divisions assigned to SEAC?? Do you keep them in Yunan or send them on to India where there is plentiful supply to build up to full strength??
On Day 1 I start them on the way to Lashio and Myitkyina. I time my British withdrawal from the south to allow them the time necessary to get into place. Along with the retreating Brit troops they can hold against most anything a Japanese player is silly enough to send again them, particularly since I can bomb attackers from multiple air bases.
Keeping the Burma Road open is critical to my effort in China, and also if good Japanese troops are being wasted in the Jungle, they aren't bothering me elsewhere.
Cheers -
Dave Baranyi
I agree with the need to move those troops away from China as India is more important to save than China proper. I wish the standard game was a little more like Nik Mod when it comes to China as it is relatively easy to conquer China as it now stands. Thus, troops can be transferred to other theaters by late 42 or 43 when the Allies are counter-attacking. I have one game of each now and it is a different picture from one game to the other.
I had one Chinese division move it's first 60 miles in just 2 1/2 weeks. [X(] [&o][X(]
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[/center]RE: Jan 1, 1942 DEI
ORIGINAL: ny59giants
quote:
ORIGINAL: ny59giants
What are you doing with the Chinese divisions assigned to SEAC?? Do you keep them in Yunan or send them on to India where there is plentiful supply to build up to full strength??
On Day 1 I start them on the way to Lashio and Myitkyina. I time my British withdrawal from the south to allow them the time necessary to get into place. Along with the retreating Brit troops they can hold against most anything a Japanese player is silly enough to send again them, particularly since I can bomb attackers from multiple air bases.
Keeping the Burma Road open is critical to my effort in China, and also if good Japanese troops are being wasted in the Jungle, they aren't bothering me elsewhere.
Cheers -
Dave Baranyi
I agree with the need to move those troops away from China as India is more important to save than China proper. I wish the standard game was a little more like Nik Mod when it comes to China as it is relatively easy to conquer China as it now stands. Thus, troops can be transferred to other theaters by late 42 or 43 when the Allies are counter-attacking. I have one game of each now and it is a different picture from one game to the other.
I had one Chinese division move it's first 60 miles in just 2 1/2 weeks. [X(] [&o][X(]
I'm trying to figure out how to save both - and keeping the Burma Road open is a big part of that. Fighting in China wouldn't be so bad if the movement rules were a little more realistic in two ways:
1 - Don't let units use Rail bonuses until they have captured bases at both ends of a rail line, and even then make them use engineers to repair the rail lines at both end bases
2 - "Improve" roads and trails after tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of troops have marched over them. Marching armies aways improve the routes that they use. Once a Division has "trail blazed" a route, future units should never have to face a "1 mile a day" penalty again.
Oh well, maybe WitP II will do something about this...[8|]
Thanks for the comments -
Dave Baranyi
Quiet is Good...
January 1, 1942 -
New Year's Day didn't bring anything "new" to the war. There were a number of small actions and both sides continued to replenish, rebuild and manoeuvre their forces. Japanese subs continue to interfere with Allied plans in the Eastern and South Pacific; more by simply spotting and identifying US TFs than by actual attacks.
Night action saw a small Japanese SC TF consisting of a CL and 3 DDs sail into Pontianak and sink one of the Dutch PT boats on patrol. Afterwards I found out that a very poor naval commander was in charge of the Dutch PT TF and so I replaced him in anticipation of the next meeting of forces. Overall, it wasn't a good night for Allied navies as S-36 sank from damage while trying to get to safety, and Japanese ASW chased KVIII out of Amboina.
The air war went better for the Allies. An unescorted flight of Sonias in China was ambushed by part of the AVG and some Chinese fighters while attempting to bomb a Chinese land unit that is blocking an assault route:
Day Air attack on 40th Chinese Corps, at 46, 35
Japanese aircraft
Ki-51 Sonia x 9
Allied aircraft
P-40B Tomahawk x 9
I-16c x 3
Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-51 Sonia: 8 destroyed
Allied aircraft losses
I-16c: 1 damaged
Aircraft Attacking:
1 x Ki-51 Sonia bombing at 2000 feet
Chinese bombers also successfully attacked Japanese ground troops at several locations, and some Dutch bombers hit a Japanese AP near Brunei. Japanese bombers also did some tit-for-tat bombing in China, and sent a fairly strong raid against Kendari. It appears that Kendari will be the next major Japanese target in the DEI.
The land war saw things get tighter in China. Yenen, Ichang and Wuchow continue to be threatened, and use of the "w" key allowed me to see that Japanese troops are apparently approaching Yenen from the north as well as from the south. Japanese forces drove out the Chinese unit that I moved south of Wuchow, re-establishing direct contact with the Japanese units which are besieging Wuchow. Wuchow and Ichang received artillery bombardments, while Changsha continued to be left pretty much alone for now.
In Malaya, Japanese forces captured Taiping in a deliberate attack. Unfortunately, the retreating troops moved to Georgetown instead of south and are now trapped. I will pull out pieces via submarine and rebuild them in India. (And yes, in a "non-historic" game, I consider this "fair play".) Mersing only received an artillery bombardment.
Otherwise, things are quiet in the Philippines, Solomons and South Pacific. "Quiet is Good" and I'll use the breathing space to continue to organize my forces.
Dave Baranyi
New Year's Day didn't bring anything "new" to the war. There were a number of small actions and both sides continued to replenish, rebuild and manoeuvre their forces. Japanese subs continue to interfere with Allied plans in the Eastern and South Pacific; more by simply spotting and identifying US TFs than by actual attacks.
Night action saw a small Japanese SC TF consisting of a CL and 3 DDs sail into Pontianak and sink one of the Dutch PT boats on patrol. Afterwards I found out that a very poor naval commander was in charge of the Dutch PT TF and so I replaced him in anticipation of the next meeting of forces. Overall, it wasn't a good night for Allied navies as S-36 sank from damage while trying to get to safety, and Japanese ASW chased KVIII out of Amboina.
The air war went better for the Allies. An unescorted flight of Sonias in China was ambushed by part of the AVG and some Chinese fighters while attempting to bomb a Chinese land unit that is blocking an assault route:
Day Air attack on 40th Chinese Corps, at 46, 35
Japanese aircraft
Ki-51 Sonia x 9
Allied aircraft
P-40B Tomahawk x 9
I-16c x 3
Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-51 Sonia: 8 destroyed
Allied aircraft losses
I-16c: 1 damaged
Aircraft Attacking:
1 x Ki-51 Sonia bombing at 2000 feet
Chinese bombers also successfully attacked Japanese ground troops at several locations, and some Dutch bombers hit a Japanese AP near Brunei. Japanese bombers also did some tit-for-tat bombing in China, and sent a fairly strong raid against Kendari. It appears that Kendari will be the next major Japanese target in the DEI.
The land war saw things get tighter in China. Yenen, Ichang and Wuchow continue to be threatened, and use of the "w" key allowed me to see that Japanese troops are apparently approaching Yenen from the north as well as from the south. Japanese forces drove out the Chinese unit that I moved south of Wuchow, re-establishing direct contact with the Japanese units which are besieging Wuchow. Wuchow and Ichang received artillery bombardments, while Changsha continued to be left pretty much alone for now.
In Malaya, Japanese forces captured Taiping in a deliberate attack. Unfortunately, the retreating troops moved to Georgetown instead of south and are now trapped. I will pull out pieces via submarine and rebuild them in India. (And yes, in a "non-historic" game, I consider this "fair play".) Mersing only received an artillery bombardment.
Otherwise, things are quiet in the Philippines, Solomons and South Pacific. "Quiet is Good" and I'll use the breathing space to continue to organize my forces.
Dave Baranyi
Back into the fray...
January 2, 1942 -
Treespider was back with a turn after an extended game-free time in "Real Life". Looking at the situation I'm faced with in this game makes me realize how much I learned from Treespider that I've already applied against Yank. [;)] The situation is very tough in the Far East for the Allies in this game, and time isn't on my side.
Air and Ground battles defined this turn. Treespider sent some Zeros in at long range to Hengchow to challenge my Tomahawks. The contest was a draw, but I've pulled by that AVG piece because I expect a bigger sweep of Zeros over the air of Hengchow next turn. Anyway, Treespider is using his bombers in other locations, particularly in Malaya and Sumatra.
Which reminds me; I got one "funny" report during the Combat Replay - a "red line" from Malaya to Palembang appeared while I was getting a report of a big air attack on Kendari. The combat report afterwards also said Kendari, but there wasn't any sign of damage there. I hope that this was just a fluke and not an early sign of something more serious.
And the "serious" action this turn was on the ground:
- A deliberate attack on Manila was tried by a limited number of Japanese troops and it failed badly. I still hold Clark Field and Bataan, so I've got a bit of a breather there.
- Ichang received an artillery attack from a very large quantity of Japanese troops, and more enemy troops are on the way. I've also got troops on the way but it's doubtful that they will get there in time.
- A deliberate attack at Wuchow was repulsed readily. I'm hoping that I get a few more days to get more troops into position.
- In Malaya a deliberate attack on Mersing failed, but not by much.
- And in Mindanao, a shock attack on Cotabato came out of now where, and fortunately failed. But I don't know where those troops came from, although I suspect that they may have been parachuted into the attack.
It's going to be tough to keep the two games separated in my mind as they progress…
Dave Baranyi
Treespider was back with a turn after an extended game-free time in "Real Life". Looking at the situation I'm faced with in this game makes me realize how much I learned from Treespider that I've already applied against Yank. [;)] The situation is very tough in the Far East for the Allies in this game, and time isn't on my side.
Air and Ground battles defined this turn. Treespider sent some Zeros in at long range to Hengchow to challenge my Tomahawks. The contest was a draw, but I've pulled by that AVG piece because I expect a bigger sweep of Zeros over the air of Hengchow next turn. Anyway, Treespider is using his bombers in other locations, particularly in Malaya and Sumatra.
Which reminds me; I got one "funny" report during the Combat Replay - a "red line" from Malaya to Palembang appeared while I was getting a report of a big air attack on Kendari. The combat report afterwards also said Kendari, but there wasn't any sign of damage there. I hope that this was just a fluke and not an early sign of something more serious.
And the "serious" action this turn was on the ground:
- A deliberate attack on Manila was tried by a limited number of Japanese troops and it failed badly. I still hold Clark Field and Bataan, so I've got a bit of a breather there.
- Ichang received an artillery attack from a very large quantity of Japanese troops, and more enemy troops are on the way. I've also got troops on the way but it's doubtful that they will get there in time.
- A deliberate attack at Wuchow was repulsed readily. I'm hoping that I get a few more days to get more troops into position.
- In Malaya a deliberate attack on Mersing failed, but not by much.
- And in Mindanao, a shock attack on Cotabato came out of now where, and fortunately failed. But I don't know where those troops came from, although I suspect that they may have been parachuted into the attack.
It's going to be tough to keep the two games separated in my mind as they progress…
Dave Baranyi
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Jim D Burns
- Posts: 4004
- Joined: Mon Feb 25, 2002 6:00 pm
- Location: Salida, CA.
RE: Back into the fray...
ORIGINAL: ADavidB
I still hold Clark Field and Bataan, so I've got a bit of a breather there.
Remember the second he steps on Clark Field with a unit now, you'll be unable to get any more troops into Manila due to the ZOC rules. Now is the time to consolidate your forces if you are going to, otherwise the ZOC rules will divide your troops and make holding out for a long time a lot more difficult. Get everyone into Manila ASAP, there or Bataan, before he splits your forces for good.
Jim