43 - The Mouse bites back. Rob vs Littlejoe 43+

[Rob Brennan UK]

Had a sudden thought about the above screenshot .. need escorts on the west coast. best send some
spare ships over in the next few turns.

well these 2 days were even quieter . Rennel island bounces back and even gets a chance to increase
the fort levels a bit ( in case of counter invasion). Another re-action to japan here is I have sent
the US CV's to Noumea and moved the british forward to luganville. I have a whopping number of
battleships in this neck of the woods, unfortunately no targets. several DD's left behind to patrol brisbane to try and nail any japanese spy subs in the area.

SS jack nailed a full japanese tanker , but stupidly went in on the surface !

Sub attack at 59,44

Japanese Ships
TK Kyokuyo Maru, Shell hits 1, Torpedo hits 1, on fire BURNING LIKE A LANTERN

Allied Ships
SS Jack, hits 3 TIT

The chinese AF instead of licking its wounds hit TAAN port which is still un-capped

3 attacks . one of which is below

Day Air attack on Taan , at 37,41


Allied aircraft
P-40N Warhawk x 28
B-25J Mitchell x 28


No Allied losses

Japanese Ships
PT Gyoraitei #1, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage BITs landing in hanoi.
AK Toa Maru #2, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage SANK later

Port hits 2
Port supply hits 1

AK Toa took 2 more bomb hits . one from a barracuda and one from an avenger. oddly i dont know
why these didnt use torps ?? both in normal range .. odd.

Usual bombing over burma .. I have stood down the bombers for the next 2 days as i'm planning a
hit on rangoon airfields in the next turn after this one. Whoops i did have a piccie of the supply
state in the jungle bound unit .. 24 actual 400 needed ?? why ? its next to a rail line has
HQ in hex and oodles in mandalay/pagan etc. ?? has me befuddled completely, even using 100+
dakotas flying airlift supplys in daily didn't help much and just cost a lot of damaged
dakotas. hence im leaving this hell hole for the hammer approach instead. with 3 divs 1 mixed
brigade and one armoured brigade ( japanese) still in this hex and definately not moving as he's
shelling me ( where is he getting supply from ??????? ). BAH

I havnt had a chat about the north pacific region for a wee while.

attu will finally get cleansed but will take time. I have 2 CVL, one CVE (long island) and CVE( replenishment type) in the area as a decoy but i doubt he'll send the jap carriers up here given my air power. but it's possible. Once auut is cleared .. ALL combat troops to re-fit and prep for
that northemost japanse base south of the kamchatka peninsula ( forget the name). will i trigger
the Kamikaze rules by taking this ? . long term option though.

Overall i have oodles of SeeBee units and nowt for the to do of immediate need. Shame us allies
dont have them at game start .. would make a huge differance hehe. anyhoo ,.. the 2 AK's i sent into
hostile waters off New Guinea .. thusrday island and the one to the west . arrived unscathed !
frankly amazed me. so part loaded 2 seebee units at townsville to head out here and use the
pre-postioned supply to make airfields !.. wish i'd thought of this 6 months ago [:'(]

I think i may be too cautious BUT .. cannot afford to lose more CV's without at least havign a good
chance to inflict equal damage. roll on the F6 Hellcats in july. THEN the american cv's won't be
so obsolete. one british one even has corsairs ! huzzah. shame the rest use F2 wildcats .. nary
a seafire in sight. some aspects of non-pdu i find very odd. i.e still have 3 sqds of buffalos
just for the range i might add.

anyhoo as i overwrote the piccie i'll do 2 tomorrow .. pwomise.

bye bye .. p.s the kami question wasn't rhetorical i really don;t know if it will trigger them.

[aztez]

Everything is ok back here if you don't count in the coming winter! [8|] Just got somewhat tired of Witp for a while. My PBEM's are still ongoing. Both are in 1944's.
 
Hmpf, it seems that your game has come into situation where you gather strenghts before the final push. Do not rush the big operations. Prepare and strike decisive blow when you are fully ready! [:)]
 

[Rob Brennan UK]

Nice to hear your friendly voice again [8D]. I know your right about not wasting my current (much lower than japans) CV assets. ooh but in 23 days i get 4 essex class carriers and another CVL. month transit to the SW pacific .. then we will see the situation at rennel . maybe defend it and get supporting bases OR just hit port moresby with an enourmous hammer .. 80% in place with AP's and 3 more divisions coming along .. all marines ! [:D] .. I will have a shortage of AP's but i havnt made many 'barges' yet. so i will have lots in the pools to create at townsville for fast unloading .. humm ,, plenty of mine sweepers on hand too. 25 or thereabouts iirc. not including the fast DM minesweepers for bombardment groups.

With that in mind .. end august assault on PM. hopefully thursday island might get built .. if not then it matters little. gili gili will soon follow.. troops prepped and prepping. then maybe a dash east to hit the likes of shortlands so long as he has large garissons in the solomons .. ( i.e surround and die) after i close rabaul with heavy air power.

Commonwealth in 2 months

I will know by then IF i can frontal assault the japanese out of burma finally. if not ?? landings at diamond harbour or tavoy possible. I've already started the march south from sabang in sumatra .. next base along has 2nd Jap Para brigade ( easily overrun). then with air cover . base hop down the island till i can get palembang and singapore well within allied air cover . also will land forces on the west of the island ( the CW is not short on base forces for small (30/60/90) strong forward fighter/fighter bomber attachments.

By jan 44 I would like ( in the commonwealth theatre) to own or deny japan sumatra , deny singapore and mayaysia. threaten java and maybe just maybe enter thailand by land.

in the american theatre .. all will hinge of the upcoming air battles as he will have to commit his CV's sometime .. and i want it to be at a time of my choosing and in a place of my choosing. After PM/gili falls . i can project power quite some ways with LBA .. and finally get some use from the 100's of medium range a/c in australia just waiting for combat.

boy , that makes me sound like a megolomaniac [;)] , but after watching that rome episode on constantine , i'm a cuddly bunny by comparison [:D]

kami activation rules anyone ? (really should add "too lazy to go back and check the manual too" to my signature line )[;)]

[Rob Brennan UK]

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 06/24/43

Relatively active 2 days compared to the last 4 .

USS Billfish is a hero of the united states and on returning to Darwin the commander
LCDR F.C.Lucas will recieve the medal of honour. in one day he sank 3 japanese merchantmen
which had heavy escort too. AK1 3 torp hits AK2+3 2 torps a piece. considering his
awful stats 38/44 he might get a desk job and be replaced OR i may well keep him
operational just to see if he can do it again. FYI sub was off SE Borneo and hit shipping
coming out of tarakan so hopefully loaded with resources. SS Snook took a pot shot at the
convoy on the 25th but missed, and survived the ASW aftermath.

Actually i have no fear whatsoever of japanese ASW apart from Sally/helens these a/c cause me
headaches esp around malaysia .. SS seal just reached position and was hit by a 250kg bomb the
following day .. back to base for repairs ( hopefully). all other allied subs sent away from the
danger area to try and make a blockade of borneo oil facilities.

Rennel island was bombed heavily too.

Day Air attack on Rennell Island , at 66,99

Japanese aircraft
A6M3a Zero x 30
G3M Nell x 27
G4M1 Betty x 26
H8K Emily x 8
Ki-44-IIb Tojo x 15
Ki-61 KAIc Tony x 16
Ki-21 Sally x 26
Ki-48 Lily x 32
Ki-49 Helen x 25

Allied aircraft
no flights

Japanese aircraft losses
G3M Nell: 7 damaged
G4M1 Betty: 6 damaged
Ki-21 Sally: 3 damaged
Ki-48 Lily: 6 damaged
Ki-49 Helen: 3 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
F4U-1 Corsair: 3 destroyed
P-38G Lightning: 2 destroyed


Allied ground losses:
125 casualties reported
Guns lost 5

Airbase hits 7
Airbase supply hits 6
Runway hits 25

allied planese were wrecks anyway. so it actually helps me get the pilots out.
The P38's are all now in luganville .. in total 13 planes and 64 pilots made it out.
the planes i can replace easily . and i'm happy so few pilots were lost.

Rennel has a battered runway now .. i'm going to reactivate nendo island as its
the only potential base close enough to rennel for LR lightning CAP .. daft level 1
af and a dot base that i abondoned earlier. maybe should have tried to make more of
it .. oh well live and learn. however japan could always lay waste by air to it.
but i doubt his surface forces would venture down here ( i hope they do).

todya piccie no 1 .. burma front line

[Rob Brennan UK]

CL denver upgrading in sydney decided to become a CVL ? or more accurately a CS sea plane tender ?? odd

[Rob Brennan UK]

air group .. i set replacements off as i dont want 40 pilots coming hete ! ..

not a game killer by any means but still [&:]

[ctangus]

If you upgrade those Seagulls to OS2Us you'll probably get rid of the 40 planes in reserve. Worth a shot at least & they give you better range, too.

[Rob Brennan UK]

Hi Ctangus, unforunately its a non-pdu game so i can't [:(], nice idea though and thanks for posting.
Hum .. wondor what would happen if i transfer them ashore for a turn? worth a try i suppose.

Anyhoo .. AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 06/26/43

These 2 days are dominated by air combat over burma (at last) and murpheys law.

Murpheys law first. I wrote yesterday about not being worried by japanese surface ASW. Well
i've done a murray walker ( Brit commentator).

ASW attack near Tarawa at 85,91

Japanese Ships
DD Arare
DD Isokaze
DD Kagero

Allied Ships
SS S-35, hits 3, on fire 37/54

ASW attack near Vella Lavella at 64,94

Japanese Ships
PG Nikkai Maru
PG Keijo Maru
PG Tamo Maru #7
PG Tamo Maru #6
PG Takunan Maru #3
PG Oi Maru

Allied Ships
SS S-43, hits 8, on fire 46/53 ..


Only old S-boats but i like them as fond memories when they were the only US boats that had
working torpedoes in 1942[;)]. i hope both survive but they will need some yard time after
that. I think the crews probably need a break too. sunny canton and sunny luganville are thier
respective home ports so they are close(ish).

Up north (so to speak). Attu island gets its daily bombing and bi-daily bombardment

Naval bombardment of Attu Island, at 92,34

Allied Ships
DD Anthony
BB Pennsylvania
DD O'Bannon
DD Maury
DD Flusser
DD Bache
CA San Francisco
DD Stack
DD Meade
DD Barton
DD Stanly
DD Pringle
CL Phoenix
CL Richmond
CA New Orleans
BB California
BB Arizona

Japanese ground losses:
175 casualties reported

Something to do with the old BB's [;)]. i suspect his support must be very very low indeed.

example bombing run

from kiska island :-

Day Air attack on 23rd Engineer Regiment, at 92,34


Allied aircraft
F4F-4 Wildcat x 42
SBD Dauntless x 13
Kittyhawk I x 10
P-40E Warhawk x 21
A-20G Havoc x 24
B-25J Mitchell x 12


No Allied losses

Japanese ground losses:
125 casualties reported


and from Adak (home of the heavy bombers for the north)

Day Air attack on 23rd Engineer Regiment, at 92,34


Allied aircraft
PB4Y Liberator x 10
B-24D Liberator x 21


No Allied losses

Japanese ground losses:
50 casualties reported

There are more 4E bombers at adak, and they usually split for 2 attacks so thats why the
numbers look low. I had a thought about lunga and 4E heavies. I could organise some seriously
BIG bombing raids by transferring the 4E's from australia. No escort though so it might be
expansive but i need to stop things like this happening :-

Day Air attack on Rennell Island , at 66,99

Japanese aircraft
A6M3a Zero x 12
G3M Nell x 23
G4M1 Betty x 18
Ki-44-IIb Tojo x 23
Ki-61 KAIc Tony x 23
Ki-21 Sally x 25
Ki-48 Lily x 32
Ki-49 Helen x 23

Allied aircraft
no flights

Japanese aircraft losses
G3M Nell: 2 damaged
Ki-21 Sally: 4 damaged
Ki-48 Lily: 2 damaged

Allied aircraft losses


Allied ground losses:
72 casualties reported
Guns lost 2

Airbase hits 2
Runway hits 21

It'll make luganville a bit overcrowded as i'd have to withdraw the dakotas so the heavies can fit
but i think it'll be worth while.

anyhoo i got off-track so to carry on the attu island story allied attempts to shift the evil
japanese intruders are proving both expensive and pointless. these guys fight hard even when
starved and forced to eat grass.

Ground combat at Attu Island

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 31740 troops, 282 guns, 12 vehicles, Assault Value = 550

Defending force 19218 troops, 2 guns, 32 vehicles, Assault Value = 353

Allied max assault: 595 - adjusted assault: 532

Japanese max defense: 211 - adjusted defense: 25

Allied assault odds: 21 to 1


Japanese ground losses:
226 casualties reported
Vehicles lost 3

Allied ground losses:
781 casualties reported
Guns lost 28


Yikes ! .. day 2 wasnt any better

Ground combat at Attu Island

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 30512 troops, 235 guns, 12 vehicles, Assault Value = 456

Defending force 18888 troops, 0 guns, 28 vehicles, Assault Value = 355

Allied max assault: 449 - adjusted assault: 288

Japanese max defense: 217 - adjusted defense: 49

Allied assault odds: 5 to 1


Japanese ground losses:
166 casualties reported

Allied ground losses:
638 casualties reported
Guns lost 25

Looks like i'll keep this open as a training ground after all. as i cannot shift these B%^$$%s
humm lets hope this isnt a taste of things to come.

Rest and shell again. even having the theatre HQ didnt help much. and i didn't in the end send
another RCT. there isnt any need as i have odds on japan and it'll just lead to heavier
allied losses imo.

In china the airforce switched from hitting Taan port ( after the last ship sank) and
hit the airfields expecting maybe a recon or patrol a/c .. humm he's sent in fighters
and i did time it quite by accident [;)]

Day Air attack on Taan , at 37,41

Japanese aircraft
no flights

Allied aircraft
P-40N Warhawk x 33
B-25J Mitchell x 26

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-43-IIa Oscar: 2 destroyed
A6M3 Zero: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
B-25J Mitchell: 1 damaged

Airbase hits 7
Runway hits 26

Day Air attack on Taan , at 37,41

Japanese aircraft
no flights

Allied aircraft
P-40N Warhawk x 23
B-25J Mitchell x 23

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-43-IIa Oscar: 1 destroyed
A6M3 Zero: 1 destroyed
Ki-44-IIb Tojo: 1 destroyed


Airbase hits 6
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 34

not too shabby, i suspect may a/c damaged .. we will contine tomorrow and the coastal
torpedo planes will provide recon while their escorts will do a fighter sweep at altitude.

Japanese emilys have been reconing the southern allied bases in the coral sea area, i.e noumea
and brisbane. i think he's spotted the US Cv's at noumea , but as yet the british in luganville
remain unspotted (as far as i know).

Now onto Burma .. Japan tried to send LR CAP against my bombing runs on the troops .

Day Air attack on 38th Division, at 31,33

Japanese aircraft
A6M3a Zero x 17
Ki-43-IIa Oscar x 29
Ki-61 KAIc Tony x 9

Allied aircraft
Liberator VI x 3
Hudson I x 3
P-40E Warhawk x 55
B-25J Mitchell x 17

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M3a Zero: 7 destroyed
Ki-43-IIa Oscar: 26 destroyed
Ki-61 KAIc Tony: 5 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
Hudson I: 2 damaged
P-40E Warhawk: 6 destroyed, 3 damaged
B-25J Mitchell: 1 destroyed, 1 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
52 casualties reported
Guns lost 1


excellent ! the oscars went down like lead baloons tied to lawnmowers [:D]
38-6 (fighters). i'm happy with that. secondary raid escorted by just 4 boomerang 2's
went in unopposed after this cleansing of the skies.

2nd day went well too.

Day Air attack on 38th Division, at 31,33

Japanese aircraft
A6M3a Zero x 13
Ki-43-IIa Oscar x 6
Ki-61 KAIc Tony x 5

Allied aircraft
Liberator VI x 3
Hudson I x 3
P-40E Warhawk x 54
B-25J Mitchell x 13

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M3a Zero: 11 destroyed
Ki-43-IIa Oscar: 1 destroyed
Ki-61 KAIc Tony: 4 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
P-40E Warhawk: 5 destroyed, 4 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
44 casualties reported
Guns lost 2

16-5 .. no idea why my 72 lightnings didnt escort ?? .. oh well they can fly a sweep
tomorrow over where i think these are coming from. I'll also divert the bombers to
the airfields as well.

1st raid on rangoon was very succesful too-

Day Air attack on Rangoon , at 29,34

Japanese aircraft
no flights

Allied aircraft
Wellington III x 43
Liberator VI x 24
Beaufighter VIC x 39
F-5A Lightning x 5
B-26B Marauder x 64
B-17E Fortress x 16

Japanese aircraft losses
H8K Emily: 2 destroyed
Ki-46-III Dinah: 3 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
Wellington III: 1 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
414 casualties reported
Guns lost 6

Airbase hits 31
Airbase supply hits 10
Runway hits 136

nice hits ! .. and dead emilys i like a lot , as i loath those planes. [:'(]

Also port moresby had a visit from the 17's again, this time on ground attack as a diversion.
also i wanted to see what was there anyway (only one unit). not unsuprisingly its a division.

Day Air attack on 56th Division, at 53,91


Allied aircraft
P-38G Lightning x 21
B-17E Fortress x 149


No Allied losses

Japanese ground losses:
539 casualties reported nice!
Guns lost 13
Vehicles lost 1

both port and a/f are heavily damaged so i imaging supply a tad low. i keep spotting japanese
subs which i suspect are hauling in supply from rabaul.

well that just about covers this turn .. lest see if i can clobber some japanese fighters
on the ground in thailand tomorrow. the heavies i have moved to luganville but they will need a
rest/reorganise period while the dakotas haul supply and men around the theatre. lets hope
he doesn't bomb this heavily overloaded airfield ( i'll not use operationally untill i have
it back under the 50xpoint maximum).

bye bye

[VSWG]

ORIGINAL: Rob Brennan UK

Looks like i'll keep this open as a training ground after all. as i cannot shift these B%^$$%s
humm lets hope this isnt a taste of things to come.

Rest and shell again. even having the theatre HQ didnt help much. and i didn't in the end send
another RCT. there isnt any need as i have odds on japan and it'll just lead to heavier
allied losses imo.

Your losses should be mostly disablements, so I wouldn't worry too much. Just keep the naval, aerial and ground bombardments up, and throw in a delib. attack every week or so. No need to hurry, IMO.

BTW, very fair of you to not exploit the training routine.

[Rob Brennan UK]

ORIGINAL: VSWG

ORIGINAL: Rob Brennan UK

Looks like i'll keep this open as a training ground after all. as i cannot shift these B%^$$%s
humm lets hope this isnt a taste of things to come.

Rest and shell again. even having the theatre HQ didnt help much. and i didn't in the end send
another RCT. there isnt any need as i have odds on japan and it'll just lead to heavier
allied losses imo.

Your losses should be mostly disablements, so I wouldn't worry too much. Just keep the naval, aerial and ground bombardments up, and throw in a delib. attack every week or so. No need to hurry, IMO.

BTW, very fair of you to not exploit the training routine.

Thanks , i'm just keeping teh game 'clean' and neither of us use exploits. i.e he only trains about 100 planes/day and i'm happy with that as there should be a way the japanses player could increase his pilot training program. but can't given the mechanics so base training is fine if used moderately.

converesly in my game vs 2ndACR ( when we re-start) he's doing huge amounts of training in the PI and DEI and China. so i'd keep attu alive in a similar situation and train up everthing that could reach [;)]

RE the losses yes its disablements i.e 70/130 lots in brackets. but they recover sooooo slowly even in non malarial. maybe because its the arctic zone [&:]. NorPac HQ should help out a lot with repairing up i hope. got more supplies than i can count in the theatre too. hehe anchorage is almost at 1mil .. and i just shuttle it forward [:D].

[VSWG]

ORIGINAL:  Rob Brennan UK

RE the losses yes its disablements i.e 70/130 lots in brackets. but they recover sooooo slowly even in non malarial. maybe because its the arctic zone [&:].

Yes, but only from Nov. to Feb.:

From the manual:

Certain areas of the map are prone to specific types of weather, which can have a drastic effect
on your units. There are three weather zones in the game: Malaria Zones, Cold Zones, and
Temperate Zones.

• Malaria Zones (most areas of Burma, Malaya, Dutch Indies, French Indo-China, Siam, Northern Australia, New Guinea, New Britain, and the Solomon Islands). – Units will take extra fatigue in Malaria Zone hexes, although being in a friendly base can minimize the impact of the Malaria Zone.
• Cold Zones (Korea, Manchuria, Alaska, Siberia, the Aleutian Islands and Southern New Zealand). The negative effects of these zones only function 4 months of the year (winter) depending on the area; in the North they function November through February, while in the South they function from May through August. Cold Zones during the winter impact ground units the same way as Malaria Zones (above), with the following added penalties:

[blockquote][blockquote]o Ships moving in Cold Zones during the winter will suffer operational
system damage at double the normal rate.
o All base construction in Cold Zones during winter takes twice as long
o Air units will fly 25% less aircraft on strike-type Missions.
o Ground units unloading at an enemy base/beach or into a non-base hex
with an enemy unit will suffer roughly three times the losses they would
normally suffer.
[/blockquote][/blockquote]

•  Temperate Zones (all other areas and certain major bases within otherwise Malaria Zones) – No adverse impact to units.

[/ul]

[Rob Brennan UK]

2 turns in the same day , whoopee

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 06/28/43

Sank another japanese minelayer ..

Sub attack at 22,46

Japanese Ships
ML Katoku, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage SUNK

Allied Ships
SS Sealion

It's only a small one but it really counts for later on.

Thats 6 Minelayers sunkin total. not sure how many japan actually has but i'd guess thats
about 1/2 of his total. [:D]

Chinese airforce encountered no resistance over Taan .. suprisingly i was expecting he'd
push some CAP up at least. got a few freebie kills though.

Day Air attack on Taan , at 37,41

Japanese aircraft
no flights

Allied aircraft
P-40N Warhawk x 26
B-25J Mitchell x 30

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M3 Zero: 2 destroyed
Ki-44-IIb Tojo: 1 destroyed
Ki-43-IIa Oscar: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
B-25J Mitchell: 1 damaged

Airbase hits 6
Airbase supply hits 3
Runway hits 34

It all adds up and fits well with my attritional ethic.

The brits try to catch the damaged japanese fighters on the ground. caught a few but it looks
like he bugged out rapidly. or i shot them all down and he's not replacing them [;)]

Day Air attack on Rahaeng , at 31,35

Japanese aircraft
no flights

Allied aircraft
Wellington III x 42
Liberator VI x 21
Beaufighter VIC x 29
B-26B Marauder x 61
B-17E Fortress x 14

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-61 KAIc Tony: 2 destroyed
A6M3a Zero: 4 destroyed
C5M Babs: 1 destroyed


Japanese ground losses:
26 casualties reported

Airbase hits 3
Airbase supply hits 8
Runway hits 38

Killed one more fighter and 3 more recon a/c on day 2.


Also raided moulmein to try and catch any a/c movement but there was no-one at home.

Day Air attack on Moulmein , at 29,35


Allied aircraft
Boomerang II x 6
Liberator VI x 10
Hudson I x 13
Beaufighter VIC x 9
P-38G Lightning x 66
B-25J Mitchell x 51


Allied aircraft losses
B-25J Mitchell: 1 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
17 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

Airbase hits 11
Airbase supply hits 5
Runway hits 26

for some odd reason my lightnings at mandalay seem to be resusing to fly [&:]
todays piccie is the offending squadron. they seem to be accumulating fatigue but
make no appearence in the combat reports [&:]


Allies try for a few hits on a rubber plantation in malaysia. overall not too bad but the
poor old beaufighter cant compete with zeros. when they hit an enemy a/c the plane blows up
with 20mm cannon shells though [:D]

Day Air attack on Songkhia , at 24,43

Japanese aircraft
A6M3a Zero x 22
Ki-43-IIa Oscar x 13

Allied aircraft
Beaufighter Mk 21 x 20
P-40N Warhawk x 16
F-5A Lightning x 3
B-17E Fortress x 42

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M3a Zero: 9 destroyed, 4 damaged
Ki-43-IIa Oscar: 8 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
Beaufighter Mk 21: 8 destroyed, 4 damaged
P-40N Warhawk: 1 destroyed, 1 damaged
B-17E Fortress: 15 damaged

Rennell Island takes a massive beating once again. 2 air raids and 2 surface attacks
the second of which was phenominal (again)..

read and shiver !

Day Air attack on Rennell Island , at 66,99

Japanese aircraft
G3M Nell x 25
G4M1 Betty x 24
Ki-44-IIb Tojo x 18
Ki-61 KAIc Tony x 4
Ki-21 Sally x 26
Ki-48 Lily x 29
Ki-49 Helen x 23

Allied aircraft
no flights

Japanese aircraft losses
G3M Nell: 1 destroyed, 5 damaged
G4M1 Betty: 1 destroyed, 2 damaged
Ki-21 Sally: 3 damaged
Ki-48 Lily: 2 destroyed, 2 damaged
Ki-49 Helen: 3 damaged

Allied aircraft losses


Allied ground losses:
163 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

Airbase hits 5
Airbase supply hits 4
Runway hits 37

Naval bombardment of Rennell Island, at 66,99 - Coastal Guns Fire Back!

21 Coastal gun shots fired in defense.
Japanese Ships
DD Kari
DD Hayabusa
DD Wakatake
DD Hokaze
DD Hatakaze
DD Matsukaze
DD Asakaze
DD Akatsuki
DD Umikaze
DD Shigure
CL Yubari
CL Tenryu
CL Kinu
CA Suzuya, Shell hits 1
BB Haruna


Allied ground losses:
462 casualties reported
Guns lost 8

Airbase hits 1
Runway hits 6
Port hits 3
Port supply hits 9

Naval bombardment of Rennell Island, at 66,99

Japanese Ships
DD Asagumo
DD Hagikaze
DD Yugumo
CA Mogami
CA Myoko
BB Yamato


Allied ground losses:
1848 casualties reported
Guns lost 19

Airbase hits 3
Airbase supply hits 2
Runway hits 30
Port hits 1
Port supply hits 26


Day Air attack on Rennell Island , at 66,99

Japanese aircraft
G3M Nell x 21
G4M1 Betty x 26
Ki-44-IIb Tojo x 23
Ki-61 KAIc Tony x 22
Ki-21 Sally x 25
Ki-48 Lily x 26
Ki-49 Helen x 24

Japanese aircraft losses
G3M Nell: 2 damaged
G4M1 Betty: 5 damaged
Ki-21 Sally: 1 damaged
Ki-48 Lily: 2 destroyed, 5 damaged
Ki-49 Helen: 1 damaged


Allied ground losses:
13 casualties reported

Airbase hits 5
Airbase supply hits 2
Runway hits 43

The place is another mess. need to close lunga and i'll send in some PT boats to try
and mitigate the bombardments. although i think he'll just shoot them up from the air.

I have started some speculative troop bombing along the coast facing the indian ocean
as this may well make him think and attack is imminent.

Day Air attack on Yokosuka 2nd SNLF, at 25,39


Allied aircraft
Blenheim IV x 6
Beaufort V-IX x 5
P-40B Tomahawk x 3


No Allied losses

Japanese ground losses:
22 casualties reported

I;m having trouble fitting the heavy bombers into luganville. i think i've moved in too many
hehe .. didnt realise i had c300 which is the the max size for the airfield.i think i'll send the
B24's back to australia so i can keep recon and fighters at the base.

Wierdly that seagull float plane group has dropped to 30 planes .. 10 less . so its heading
in the right direction.

More good news in new guinea too.My seaking single AK's has worked out well. some seebees are unloading at thursday island. the rest of the unit and a marine raider unit loading up for here
too. the raiders are to prevent freebie japanese para drops.

P.s i changed the picce to something more interesting than the lightnings [;)] whoops i cant
change the piccie .. [&:] so ill do the next one in another post.

Burma again .. the troops are getting out of the jungle finally. although the tanks are way behind
the infantry and might get bushwhacked if he's got supply. he'd bombarding so he can see i'm leaving
unfortunately. I have no idea how hes getting supply in here ..

Well i think that covers this turn, its a bit rambling but i was doing the turn and changing my mind
about things as it progressed. i.e PT boats to rennel. made a group of 12 out of some in luganville
port. they will have to go via Ndini as rennel is more tha 8 hexes away. so i need to run a tanker
into this dot base ( i think its a port 1 .. i hope). created a bunch (30) more at aukland and will
send upto noumea with an AK escort. might even do that to get them to rennel.

rambling over [:D]

[Rob Brennan UK]

SW Pacific .. just for referance so you know the islands
im wittering on about [;)]

[VSWG]

You can use a sub to refuel PT boats at sea.

[Rob Brennan UK]

subs refuel PT boats ? live and learn [;)].. as i have 15 subs hauling supply to rennel i think i'll do that instead thanks. not sure how i can refuel them once they get there though. shame dakotas can't fly in barrels of deisel but av gas isnt a problem [&:]

[Rob Brennan UK]

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 06/30/43 (it's my birthday ! at -24 years old [:D])

this happens nightly over sabang

Night Air attack on Sabang , at 19,41

Japanese aircraft
Ki-45 KAIa Nick x 15

Allied aircraft
Beaufighter VIF x 10
P-70A Havoc x 9

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-45 KAIa Nick: 3 destroyed, 3 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
Beaufighter VIF: 1 damaged
P-70A Havoc: 4 damaged

Aircraft Attacking:
12 x Ki-45 KAIa Nick bombing at 2000 feet

The P-70's seem to get more kills and less damage than the Beaufighter. rather glad
i moved tham up rather than sitting in noumea twiddling thumbs.

My battlehips don't do nearly the same damage as the japanese ones [:(]

Naval bombardment of Attu Island, at 92,34

Allied Ships
BB Pennsylvania
BB California
CA New Orleans
CA San Francisco
CL Phoenix
DD Anthony
DD Bache
DD O'Bannon
DD Flusser
DD Maury
DD Stack

Japanese ground losses:
218 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

Naval bombardment of Attu Island, at 92,34

Allied Ships
DD Pringle
DD Meade
DD Barton
DD Stanly
CL Richmond
BB Arizona

Japanese ground losses:
77 casualties reported

After yesterdays poor sub performance SS-38 patroling manilla harbour was attacked by
a japanese ASW group.

ASW attack near Manila at 43,52

Japanese Ships
MSW Tasei Maru
MSW Tamaura Maru
MSW Rikusen Maru
MSW Kaiyo Maru #3
MSW Kaiyo Maru #1
MSW Hinode Maru #18
MSW Hinode Maru #17

Allied Ships
SS S-38

he missed .. fortunately i didnt

Sub attack near Manila at 43,52

Japanese Ships
MSW Tasei Maru, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage SUNK
MSW Tamaura Maru
MSW Rikusen Maru
MSW Kaiyo Maru #3
MSW Kaiyo Maru #1
MSW Hinode Maru #18
MSW Hinode Maru #17

Allied Ships
SS S-38

Sub attack near Manila at 43,52

Japanese Ships
MSW Rikusen Maru, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage SUNK
MSW Tamaura Maru
MSW Kaiyo Maru #3
MSW Kaiyo Maru #1
MSW Hinode Maru #18
MSW Hinode Maru #17

Allied Ships
SS S-38

Hehe .. time for base and biscuits. Personally i would prefer to hit merchantmen but i'll
not pass them up.

Rennel again gets hit from the air

Day Air attack on Rennell Island , at 66,99

Japanese aircraft
G3M Nell x 22
G4M1 Betty x 25
Ki-44-IIb Tojo x 23
Ki-61 KAIc Tony x 20
Ki-21 Sally x 26
Ki-48 Lily x 26
Ki-49 Helen x 20

Japanese aircraft losses
G3M Nell: 1 destroyed, 2 damaged
G4M1 Betty: 1 destroyed, 2 damaged
Ki-21 Sally: 2 damaged
Ki-48 Lily: 1 destroyed, 4 damaged
Ki-49 Helen: 1 damaged


Allied ground losses:
101 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

Airbase hits 1
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 35

I have a wee plan for tomorrows turn. well 2 plans really, both of which are dangerous

1) P38's (24) will try LR Cap over rennel from nendo island. alt at 23000ft as highest
bombers at 20000 so i 'should' bounce the escorts.

2) c.200 B17's will fly unescorted to lungas airfield lets see if he's capped it properly.
This could potentially be a disaster or it could really hurt the japanese .. tomorrow will be
important i think.

Allies bombing timor at lautern quite effectively. no sign of japanese escorts yet.

Day Air attack on 21st Division, at 92,34


Allied aircraft
F4F-4 Wildcat x 42
SBD Dauntless x 28
Kittyhawk I x 10
Beaufort I x 11
P-40E Warhawk x 21
A-20G Havoc x 45
B-25J Mitchell x 9
PB4Y Liberator x 22


No Allied losses

Japanese ground losses:
101 casualties reported

The majority of the british bombers at mandalay now targetting the Flak heavy main japanese
lines

Day Air attack on 33rd Division, at 31,32


Allied aircraft
Wellington III x 29
Liberator VI x 11
Beaufighter VIC x 2
F-5A Lightning x 1
B-17E Fortress x 12


Allied aircraft losses
Wellington III: 1 destroyed, 2 damaged
Liberator VI: 3 damaged
B-17E Fortress: 1 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
208 casualties reported
Guns lost 10

I see quite a few a/c lost doing this but very few pilots killed so the occasional loss
is quite acceptable.

A few more free kills on Taan airfield. i think the bombers need a break for a couple of
days.

Day Air attack on Taan , at 37,41

Japanese aircraft
no flights

Allied aircraft
P-40N Warhawk x 29
B-25J Mitchell x 43

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-44-IIb Tojo: 2 destroyed
Ki-43-IIa Oscar: 1 destroyed


Airbase hits 5
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 49

Also just to keep japan on it's toes. B17's from sabang hit the resources at bangkok for
a change. caught japan unawares too [;)]

Day Air attack on Bangkok , at 29,40


Allied aircraft
B-17E Fortress x 41


Allied aircraft losses
B-17E Fortress: 4 damaged

Resources hits 26 NICE

Ground forces in burma are evacuating the jungle nicely, tank units are still a problem
though. any japanese attack will cancel the movement orders [:(]. the infantry will spend a short time in mandalay got get supplied , then onto the front lines. The supply levels are still
low in pagan and tuan-gui , no idea why as mandalay has 30000. just wont get the AI to move
it where i want it [:@]

Tomorrow should be exciting (weather permitting)..

piccie of night combat over sabang :-

[VSWG]

ORIGINAL: Rob Brennan UK

kami activation rules anyone ? (really should add "too lazy to go back and check the manual too" to my signature line )[;)]

Yes, you really should. [:'(]

ORIGINAL: The manual

Kamikazes are activated if the Allies own a base within 15 hexes (traced by sea only) of either
Tokyo, Takao, or Saigon. However, these will never activate before January 1, 1944.

[aztez]

Worrying about Kamikaze's already Rob? [:D][;)]

What is the story behind Sabang? I mean are you able to fly offensive missions out of it or...? To me the base seems a good place to start shutting down Joe's oil convoys from Palempang.

[Rob Brennan UK]

Thanks VSWG. Looks like Pasamashira and 2 bases south of it are out of kami activation range. I
Was toying with invading here as i want to squeeze everywhere. still have to clear out the trash
at Attu is. 1st and thats proving problematic [;)]

Aztez, re Kamis .. only 6 months to 1944 so might as well start worring now[;)]. I wouldnt want to
activate the rule without good reason and invading the kurile islands isnt worth acrivating
kamikazes imo. [:D]. RE Sabang, its too far north of palembang to hurt the oil supply. and even
though im easily in range of the indochina coast and the east coast of malaysia, bombers seem very
reluctant to fly over land to attack naval targets ( hence the b17's have been quiet as i was just waiting for naval attacks that never happened [8|]. Speculative resource and heavy industry bombing
will i hope spread out his fighter defences. I am oozing down from sabang and given how slow it is
some LCT/LCI etc sailing into sabang to cart a brigade somewhere as yet undecided. LR CAP is not
a worry and i have plenty of range 8 a/c.

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 07/02/43

July arrives with a bang on lunga [;)].. the raid of 202 B17's was succesful in some respects.
the bombers were not at home but the AA fire killed off quite a lot of fighters and the runways
were heavily cratered

Day Air attack on Lunga , at 67,97

Japanese aircraft
A6M3a Zero x 18
Ki-44-IIb Tojo x 13
Ki-61 KAIc Tony x 13

Allied aircraft
F-5A Lightning x 7
B-17E Fortress x 202

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M3a Zero: 6 destroyed, 6 damaged
Ki-44-IIb Tojo: 1 destroyed, 11 damaged
Ki-61 KAIc Tony: 2 destroyed, 9 damaged
H8K Emily: 3 destroyed
Ki-48 Lily: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
B-17E Fortress: 10 destroyed, 48 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
104 casualties reported
Guns lost 2

Airbase hits 34
Airbase supply hits 8
Runway hits 165 GOOD !

Unfortunately days 2 was rained out for both sides and given the wmount of escort my LR
lightnings encountered i'm nervous of going back as his CAP could be very heavily re-inforced.

Day Air attack on Rennell Island , at 66,99

Japanese aircraft
A6M3a Zero x 45
G3M Nell x 22
G4M1 Betty x 24
Ki-44-IIb Tojo x 22
Ki-61 KAIc Tony x 23
Ki-21 Sally x 24
Ki-48 Lily x 23
Ki-49 Helen x 23

Allied aircraft
P-38G Lightning x 6

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M3a Zero: 4 destroyed, 1 damaged
G3M Nell: 1 damaged
G4M1 Betty: 1 damaged
Ki-44-IIb Tojo: 3 destroyed, 1 damaged
Ki-61 KAIc Tony: 4 destroyed, 1 damaged
Ki-21 Sally: 4 damaged
Ki-48 Lily: 1 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
P-38G Lightning: 12 destroyed OUCH


Allied ground losses:
40 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

Airbase hits 2
Airbase supply hits 3
Runway hits 45

don't like that one bit. I need to get nendo <sp> island upto at least a size 2 to fly even
somewhat effective LR cover of rennel.

Real losses were 12 lightnings ( 7 pilots)
and 18 forts (11 crews).

So much for a suprise raid. humm need to think on doing it again hopefully recon can tell me
if his CAP has increased dramatically. Rennel is completely unuseable as an air base right now.

In the ever on going submarine war its 2-1 today

Sub attack at 50,45

Japanese Ships
PC Ch 22, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage SUNK
PC Ch 30
PC Iki
PC Matsuwa
DD Wakazuki
DD Niizuki

Allied Ships
SS Hoe

Sub attack at 47,48

Japanese Ships
TK Kaizyo Maru, Torpedo hits 3, on fire, heavy damage SANK

Allied Ships
SS Tullibee

ASW attack near Brunei at 32,57

Japanese Ships
PG Myoken Maru
PG Kiso Maru
PG Kamitsu Maru
PG Chiyo Maru
PG Aso Maru
PG Akitsu Maru

Allied Ships
SS S-37, hits 3, on fire Badly hurt ,, liming for home 50/50 surviveability


I'm also moving the RN CV's out of luganville ( too exposed and definately reconned )
back to Noumea to join the US CV's who might remain unspotted but i doubt it as emily
flying boats evade the CAP and photo the port ( although im not disbanded in port as a precaution
against recon i'm pretty sure he'll have spotted the CV taskforces at anchor off shore.

Converesly i'm sending up the slow american BB's to luganville as i might use them against
the japanese raiders IF i can close down lunga. time will tell but i really could do with
about 2 weeks of really crappy weather to get rennel repaired first.

The PT boats arrived at rennel and next turn 2 merchantmen with much needed supply will start
unloading if they survive japanese air attacks. I can also refuel the PT boats from them.

Also, Loading up the 2 divs for an invasion of Tavoy .. maybe .. i'll send them forward to the
andaman islands then get a lot of support stuff there as well so i can invade on very short#notice if necessary. We will see how well japan has guarded it's coastline here [;)] victoria point looks
rather tough as i'm bombing it he's hevily re-inforced it .. Tavoy has 8000 men ( according to
dodgy recon) and is the least occupied coastal base in the area.

Hellcat arrived too .. nice .. also getting hellcat II's for the RN (slowly).. finally dump the
last fulmars at long last .. equipped one RN CV with corsairs too .. (proper upgrade path
not marine fighter wings operating out of brit CV's .. way too gamey imo. )

well thats about it today .. I do have a HUGE chinese army in wuuchow .. don't know what to do
with it .. canton is too well protected .. maybe invade indo china . supply is a problem though.
ah well im pondering [;)]

bye

[Rob Brennan UK]

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 07/04/43

Good day for subs , 2 tankers torpedoes north of the PI and one merchantman presumably carting
supply from tokyo to some point south ( not anymore it isn't ).

He finally put some fighters into east timor with some bad allied results

Day Air attack on Sasebo 2nd SNLF, at 33,78

Japanese aircraft
A6M3a Zero x 25

Allied aircraft
Boomerang II x 2
Brewster 339D x 2
Beaufighter Mk 21 x 6
B-24D Liberator x 11

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M3a Zero: 1 destroyed, 2 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
Boomerang II: 1 destroyed
Brewster 339D: 1 destroyed
Beaufighter Mk 21: 2 destroyed, 2 damaged
B-24D Liberator: 1 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
33 casualties reported

Day Air attack on 4th Mixed Brigade, at 33,78

Japanese aircraft
A6M3a Zero x 24

Allied aircraft
Boomerang II x 14
Brewster 339D x 26
Hudson I x 9
Beaufighter Mk 21 x 39
B-24D Liberator x 12

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M3a Zero: 16 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
Boomerang II: 4 destroyed, 1 damaged
Brewster 339D: 10 destroyed, 3 damaged
Beaufighter Mk 21: 12 destroyed, 8 damaged


Day Air attack on 4th Mixed Brigade, at 33,78

Japanese aircraft
A6M3a Zero x 22

Allied aircraft
Boomerang II x 9
Brewster 339D x 16
Hudson I x 6
Beaufighter Mk 21 x 23
B-24D Liberator x 15

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M3a Zero: 11 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
Boomerang II: 2 destroyed, 2 damaged
Brewster 339D: 10 destroyed
Hudson I: 1 destroyed, 1 damaged
Beaufighter Mk 21: 7 destroyed, 3 damaged

Day Air attack on Sasebo 2nd SNLF, at 33,78

Japanese aircraft
A6M3a Zero x 22

Allied aircraft
Hudson I x 9
Beaufighter Mk 21 x 4
B-24D Liberator x 13

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M3a Zero: 6 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
Hudson I: 3 destroyed, 1 damaged
Beaufighter Mk 21: 4 destroyed
B-24D Liberator: 2 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
30 casualties reported


in total 28 zeros for 60 allied planes [:(].. ouch .. the elderly dutch and the lumbering beaufighters
can't compete with front line fighters. this wasn't unexpected and he thinks im going to
invade timor .. i'm just as happy he's drawing the wrong conclusions.

Other that that .. dead quiet really .. hopefully more later on