VSWG vs. Gary - The Allied perspective

[VSWG]

Timtom, you don't even know the full stoy yet... Here it is, just for you to "enjoy":

After the night surface combat, the Japanese ships retreated - to Batavia!! I had two PT Boats at Batavia, which I had moved away from Merak because I wanted to avoid that the convoy retreats after being engaged by 2 PT Boats (has happened several times in this PBEM) before my SC TFs arrive. The PT Boats engaged the convoy, shot up an MSW with their guns, but 1 PT boat was sunk. The convoy retreated again - back to Merak!!! [X(] Then the day surface action happened at Merak... of course, the convoy retreated a third time, to the open sea hex east of Merak, where it is right now. [X(] [X(] All that time, the Repulse TF was doing nothing at Merak...



About the losses: most of the damaged APs will sink, those are all 8in/5in hits (no lousy AA fire). Sure, I would rather sink 5 APs than 5 auxilliaries, but I can live with these results (just pretend that the Japanese ships scatter into all directions, and my 7 ships can only pursuit 7 enemey vessels). Because I know how the game engine works (thanks to the Tom Hunter thread you mentioned) I had really low expectations for those surface combats, and they were exceeded. Do I think the results are realistic? No. Am I happy? Yes. [;)]

[VSWG]

The Submarine War, January 31st - February 5th:

Hits by Japanese I-boats:
I-16 at Palmyra: DMS Southard, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage (Hit on ASW duty! [:@] 52/71/1 at Palmyra. 5 near hits on I-16)
I-25 at Johnston Island: DMS Dorsey, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage (sunk on ASW duty!! [:@] [:@] I-25 escapes undamaged)
I-174 near Pago Pago: DD Dunlap, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage (a CV escort heavily damaged!!! [X(] Now 70/72/0 at Pago Pago. 4 near hits on I-171)

Japanese ASW attacks:
Near Balikpapan: SS Sturgeon, hits 15, on fire, heavy damage (sunk by APD killer ASW TF)
At Merak: SS Salmon, hits 1 (by escorts of the invasion convoy, 19 sys damage)

Hits by Allied submarines (a large wolfpack followed the heavily damaged convoy retreating from southern Java to Balikpapan):
SS Tautog near Marcus Island: AK Busan Maru, Shell hits 2, Torpedo hits 1, on fire (Tautog finds the former Midway invasion convoy)
SS Seal near Balikpapan: AK Kyokko Maru, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage (reported sunk)
SS Pickerel near Balikpapan: AK Shinrei Maru, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
SS Sturgeon near Balikpapan: AP Baikal Maru, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
SS Pickerel near Balikpapan: AK Showa Maru, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage (reported sunk)
SS Tautog, near Markus Island: AK Kyokuzan Maru, Shell hits 6 (SS Tautog hit by 2 shell hits, 9 sys damage)
SS Trout at Baker Island: AP Kongo Maru, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage (1 hit on SS Trout. The former Canton Island invasion convoy was parked at Baker. Not anymore...)
SS KXVII near Merak: AP Ayaha Maru, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage (40 casualties. A hit on the Merak convoy after the surface battles)

Allied ASW attacks:
None - my 2 CentPac ASW TFs get sunk by I-boats instead... [8|]

[VSWG]

My subs in the DEI have been working overtime since Dec. 7th - almost all of then are now in need of repairs.

Tactical submarine warfare only so far (wolfpacks near Balikpapan (large!), Merak, Marcus/Wake and around Kwajalein), but the first submarines have left Pearl Harbor for Japan a couple of days ago. I'll reorganize as soon as Java has been lost (read that as: I'll probably copy ctangus' submarine deployment plan which he was so kind to post a couple of weeks ago! [;)])

[ctangus]

ORIGINAL: VSWG

I'll probably copy ctangus' submarine deployment plan

You might want to wait & see if my plan works, first. [;)]

Re: the naval battles - despite him being a fellow Bostonian, I'm not as pessimistic as Tom Hunter was about naval combat. Is it perfect - certainly not. But how many times in the Pacific did a SAG get past escorts to hit transports? I can only think of 1, maybe 2. Sunda Strait - IIRC 1 minesweeper & 1 transport were sunk, with several more transports damaged. Maybe Balikpapan - there were Jap DDs covering, but they were chasing a sub when the US DDs went in. 3 AKs & 1 PC were sunk. Maybe 1 or 2 more damaged (I forget).

The battle off Samar is similiar. 4 Jap BBs & 7(?) CAs, with escorts, attack 6 US CVEs, with 3 DDs & 4 DEs as escort. Only 1 CVE sunk by gunfire.

The general WITP result of these actions doesn't seem too far off to me. I do think there should be a rare chance of a complete slaughter, and that won't happen with the current game mechanics. But IMO, this should be low on the priority list.

[Rob Brennan UK]

IMO given the way flooding works in the game it was a slaughter, just spread over several days rather than all at once. [:D]

How big are your ASW groups VSWG ? less than 4 seem to become targets in my experience. max 5-6 is the usual house rule and they seem to work well with good agressive commanders. but early war US DD's and especially DMS units have poor experience and sometimes abysmal captains. worth while having a look. Just don't put spruance in a DD or he will certainly die horribly [:D]

[VSWG]

ORIGINAL: ctangus

Re: the naval battles - despite him being a fellow Bostonian, I'm not as pessimistic as Tom Hunter was about naval combat. Is it perfect - certainly not. But how many times in the Pacific did a SAG get past escorts to hit transports?

Maybe the real Japanese commanders were a bit less wreckless with their ships than Gary? [;)]

The general WITP result of these actions doesn't seem too far off to me. I do think there should be a rare chance of a complete slaughter, and that won't happen with the current game mechanics. But IMO, this should be low on the priority list.

IMO it's not so much the surface combat routine itself that needs some reworking, but more the code routine that initiates surface combat. Repulse and gang was twiddling thumbs at Merak (twice!) instead of attacking the burning Japanese hulks... A better routine would allow to set SC TFs to 1. seek surface combat during day/night phase in near hexes 2. pursuit retreating enemey TFs after surface combat action, and it would 3. take into account whether the hex the combat occurs in is a coastal or an open sea hex when determining the chances of engagement/disengagement.

[VSWG]

ORIGINAL: Rob Brennan UK

IMO given the way flooding works in the game it was a slaughter, just spread over several days rather than all at once. [:D]

I'll keep tabs on it, as I did with the southern Java invasion convoy (see below).

How big are your ASW groups VSWG ? less than 4 seem to become targets in my experience. max 5-6 is the usual house rule and they seem to work well with good agressive commanders. but early war US DD's and especially DMS units have poor experience and sometimes abysmal captains. worth while having a look. Just don't put spruance in a DD or he will certainly die horribly [:D]

6 ships. Both. I have decided to increase the size of ASW TFs to 10 (no house rules regarding ASW size in this game).

*sigh

---

Now that the southern Java invasion convoy is back at Balikpapan, here is the overall tally of enemy losses (combined hits by surface combat, air attacks and submarines). Red=sunk, green=heavy damage. Scroll down for a summary:

CS Chiyoda, Bomb hits 8, Torpedo hits 3, on fire, heavy damage, and is sunk
DD Asagao
DD Hiyodori
DD Isonami, Shell hits 1, and is sunk
DD Kari
DD Karukaya
DD Kasasagi
DD Kiji
DD Minekaze, Bomb hits 3, Shell hits 10, on fire, heavy damage, and is sunk
DD Shinonome
DD Shirakumo, Shell hits 14, and is sunk
DD Usugumo, Shell hits 6, on fire, heavy damage, and is sunk
MSW Kongo Maru #2, Shell hits 4, on fire, heavy damage, and is sunk
MSW Senyu Maru #2, Bomb hits 3, on fire, heavy damage, and is sunk
PC Kyo Maru #12
PC Kyo Maru #13
PG Aso Maru, Shell hits 19, and is sunk
PG Kamitsu Maru

AP Aiyo Maru, Bomb hits 3, on fire, heavy damage, and is sunk
AP Anrugu Maru, Bomb hits 9, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage, and is sunk
AP Asahi Maru
AP Astuga Maru, Bomb hits 6, on fire, heavy damage, and is sunk
AP Baikal Maru, Bomb hits 1, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
AP Brazil Maru
AP Daigen Maru, Bomb hits 7, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage, and is sunk
AP Dainiunyo Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire
AP Daitei Maru, Bomb hits 9, on fire, heavy damage, and is sunk
AP Ginyo Maru
AP Gotake Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire
AP Horai Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire
AP Jinshu Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire
AP Kagi Maru
AP Kanayamasan Maru, Bomb hits 3, on fire
AP Karimo Maru, Bomb hits 10, on fire, heavy damage, and is sunk
AP Kashiwa Maru, Bomb hits 11, on fire, heavy damage, and is sunk
AP Kiyoshima Maru, Bomb hits 8 on fire, heavy damage, and is sunk
AP Kobe Maru
AP Kogi Maru, Bomb hits 1, Shell hits 9, on fire, and is sunk
AP Kyosei Maru, Bomb hits 9, on fire, heavy damage, and is sunk
AP La Plata Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire
AP Nichibi Maru
AP Ryotaku Maru, Bomb hits 12, on fire, heavy damage, and is sunk
AP Sakido Maru, Bomb hits 1
AP Takasago Maru
AP Takatiho Maru, Bomb hits 1
AP Takuei Maru, Bomb hits 5, on fire, heavy damage, and is sunk
AP Takunan Maru, Bomb hits 7, on fire, heavy damage, and is sunk
AP Teikyo Maru
AP Teiryu Maru
AP Toko Maru #2
AP Tsuruga Maru
AP Zukai Maru, Bomb hits 3, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage, and is sunk

AK Alaska Maru, Bomb hits 11, on fire, heavy damage, and is sunk
AK Hiyori Maru, Bomb hits 6, on fire, heavy damage, and is sunk
AK Kashu Maru, Shell hits 2
AK Kenyo Maru, Bomb hits 6, Shell hits 2, on fire, heavy damage, and is sunk
AK Kikukawa Maru
AK Kinzyosan Maru
AK Kirikawa Maru
AK Konzan Maru
AK Koryu Maru
AK Koto Maru
AK Kyokko Maru, Bomb hits 4, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage, and is sunk
AK Lisbon Maru
AK MomoKawa Maru
AK Nankai Maru
AK Rakuto Maru
AK Risen Maru
AK Ronsan Maru
AK Shingetsu Maru, Bomb hits 11, on fire, heavy damage, and is sunk
AK Shinrei Maru, Bomb hits 2, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
AK Showa Maru, Bomb hits 1, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage, and is sunk
AK Sinko Maru, Bomb hits 13, on fire, heavy damage, and is sunk
AK Taigen Maru, Torpedo hits 3, on fire, heavy damage, and is sunk
AK Takamisan Maru, Bomb hits 12, on fire, heavy damage, and is sunk
AK Teibo Maru
AK Tempei Maru
AK Tokai Maru
AK Toyama Maru, Bomb hits 3, Shell Hits 15, on fire, heavy damage, and is sunk
AK Toyohasi Maru, Bomb hits 11, on fire, heavy damage, and is sunk
AK Yae Maru

Summary:
1 CS: sunk
11 DD: sunk: 4
2 MSW: sunk: 2
2 PC
2 PG: sunk: 1
34 AP: sunk: 14, heavy damage: 1, slight damage: 8
29 AK: sunk: 11, heavy damage: 1, slight damage: 1

Note the extremely low number of heavily damaged ships: as soon as a ship was 'tagged' by a penetrating hit, it was doomed in future air attacks.

[VSWG]

[Nemo121]

Well this is an excellent example of what a determined defence can do in the face of what is, to be honest, a poorly executed attack. It is a massacre of the first order.

Congrats to VSWG on an excellent defence... I would suggest this be linked to in the "Must Read Threads" section as many players believe that the DEI are not defensible. Admittedly you have a situation in which your opponent has made some serious errors but most players who don't fight hard for the DEI wouldn't be in a position to capitalise on these Japanese failures. As such I think it offers a perspective worth adding to the Must Read Threads list.

[VSWG]

Gary had an accident with his hand, but seems to be fine otherwise. I'll use the pause to post some more updates.

Singapore:

Puny air raids are flown from Kota Bahru every day - I'm not impressed by the Liz at all. The damage is immediately repaired, and the forts are increasing. His planes sunk SS-36 in port on the 1st, which was already in deep trouble after some depth charge hits in the South China Sea.



Another deliberate attack on the 2nd caused no damage to my troops and was nowhere near 1-1, but didn't hurt the Japanese much either - the Allied AV value didn't drop, the Japanese by 160. This attack cost me 700 supplies. Otherwise the supply level remains nearly constant, the drop caused by bombardments and repairs is negligible.



Unless strong Japanese reinforcements arrive, Singapore will hold until April 1942 - he can lauch a deliberate attack approx. every 5 days, and my supplies can cope with another 10 attacks (conservative estimate) - 50 days. Only then will my AV slowly start to drop (all units are in full supply ATM) - and he has to take care of 7 forts! May 1942 is entirely possible, but I guess that Gary will not let this go on as it is - he will reinforce. Fortunately, these reinforcements are also desperately needed at Manila...

Manila:

Here the air raids are a little more fierce:



The damage is just enough so that it cannot be repaired every day - I doubt that I can increase forts to 3 unless weather grounds his planes (all at Clark Field) for a couple of days. On the other hand, the situation on the ground is excellent:



My (unadjusted) AV is about 2.5 times higher! Japanese AV before the last deliberate attack was 960, he is still recuperating - but so am I. The supply situation is excellent - more than 29.000 and not really going down! Estimated date of surrender: facing these troops - never! All troops have less than 10 fatigue and 0 disruption - the Japanese bombardments and air raids are causing no harm.

I'm still thinking about counter-attacking here, and Cagayen is already prepared for my LB to support a shock attack immediately after the next failed Japanese attack. Sadly, I don't think Gary will order another attack only with these troops - the situation is too hopeless for him ATM.

At Mindanao, Boise/Express and a MTB TF are still waiting for the first invasion convoys - I have a feeling they will be waiting for a couple of weeks more. All troops not on Luzon are Inf LCUs, maybe I start flying in some more squads to Manila from those smaller islands. It depends on my PP situation, I could use them for many other things, too.

[VSWG]

ORIGINAL: Nemo121

Well this is an excellent example of what a determined defence can do in the face of what is, to be honest, a poorly executed attack. It is a massacre of the first order.

Congrats to VSWG on an excellent defence... I would suggest this be linked to in the "Must Read Threads" section as many players believe that the DEI are not defensible. Admittedly you have a situation in which your opponent has made some serious errors but most players who don't fight hard for the DEI wouldn't be in a position to capitalise on these Japanese failures. As such I think it offers a perspective worth adding to the Must Read Threads list.

Thanks for the praise Nemo, but keep in mind that it is early February 1942 and I have lost most of the DEI, and Japanese divisions are already on Java. His extraordinary losses in shipping have bought him some very early conquests in the DEI. It's a bit of a trade-off - but he will feel the negative consequences (AP/AK/DD losses) of this trade-off for the rest of the war, while I will have to deal with mine (early loss of the DEI frees up Japanese forces for other conquests) "only" in 1942.

Regarding the "Must read" list - I think it is better to include only a couple of long-going PBEMs by veteran players, otherwise it will become too long. But thanks again. [:)]

[Rob Brennan UK]

Nice situation in manilla, If i were you, wait till he does another attack then counter attack the next turn of he takes bad losses. He really does need more men everywhere right now.

Nemo is spot on about your ability to handle the japanese in the DEI, it really is an inspiration to all allied players. your opponent has ade some serious gaffs and you have exploited them excellently. [8D]

I'm also a bit suprised he hasn;t port attacked the southern philipines bases that show ship icons [&:]. the Boise and Co. will seriously ruin any invasion that isnt properly escorted (which he seems to fail to do regularly ). you might also consider raiding linguyan <sp> if he sends in any troops convoys to help out the manilla situation. Have you many search aircraft in the area ?

also maybe use O19 and O20 to mine davao harbour from Java once you have a level 9 port there. Any US fleet boats would help mining too as thier torpedos are very dodgy right now. S boats keep for normal sub ops, same with brit and dutch subs. I'm probably telling you what you already know however [:)]

Is it possible to do a quick supply run with a single AK from Palembang to singapore, i noticed your supply is in the orange.
soemthimes a single ship can get 1/2 unloaded before its spotted.(and then sunk).

lovely piccies and good commentary. great AAR.

I would say good luck, but it appears you don't need any for now [;)]

[VSWG]

ORIGINAL: Rob Brennan UK

Nice situation in manilla, If i were you, wait till he does another attack then counter attack the next turn of he takes bad losses. He really does need more men everywhere right now.

Yup, that's the plan.

I'm also a bit suprised he hasn;t port attacked the southern philipines bases that show ship icons [&:]. the Boise and Co. will seriously ruin any invasion that isnt properly escorted (which he seems to fail to do regularly ). you might also consider raiding linguyan <sp> if he sends in any troops convoys to help out the manilla situation. Have you many search aircraft in the area ?

He knows that there's an AVD at Davao, and the ship icon at Butuan, well... maybe he missed it. This has been a rear area for weeks now, I doubt he will suddenly order a port attack because of this innocent little icon. Float planes: 2x12 Catalinas at Manila and 4 Dutch planes at Davao, but 1 Catalina squadron is currently flying the Asiatic Fleet HQ to Cagayen (forget to safe a part of that unit during the first week). Maybe I should send another Dutch flight or two.
Lingayen is too far north to raid with Boise, LBA will sink her before she gets that far. I'm waiting for a TF that I can reach within the night phase, before the 2 air phases. Actually 2 TFs have already passed Mindanao on their way to Amboina/Balikpapan (small transport/TK TFs), but those where very small, and just passing through, so I wasn't able to pinpoint the hex they would end their turn in. I let them pass undisturbed, so now I am absolutely sure that Gary thinks the area is safe...

also maybe use O19 and O20 to mine davao harbour from Java once you have a level 9 port there. Any US fleet boats would help mining too as thier torpedos are very dodgy right now. S boats keep for normal sub ops, same with brit and dutch subs. I'm probably telling you what you already know however [:)]

No level 9 port on Java, and I had to relocate my only MLE to Darwin. But mining Davao is a good idea, it will be the next destination for O19 and O20. I wanted to use the US fleet boats for mining operations, too, but Gary kept sending all these fat juicy convoys in my general direction, and I couldn't resist loading all subs with torpedoes again. I'm sure you understand...[:D]

Is it possible to do a quick supply run with a single AK from Palembang to singapore, i noticed your supply is in the orange.
soemthimes a single ship can get 1/2 unloaded before its spotted.(and then sunk).

Sadly, Palembang is already Japanese...

lovely piccies and good commentary. great AAR.

I would say good luck, but it appears you don't need any for now [;)]

Thanks, and keep in mind what Napoleon said when asked what qualities he was looking for in his generals: "Just one - that they be lucky!" [;)]

---

Okay, another screenie: China. The front is absolutely stable, with combat occuring only at Nanchang. I'm suffering heavy losses through bombardment here, but I want to build some experience, and - more importantly - pin down as many Japanese troops as possible, because I'm looking into an offensive against Kiukiang (defended by just 1 unit!). A lot would be depending on surprise though, and I have to be careful that Japanese troops from Hankow don't cut my supply path from Changsha. I've sent some scouts to investigate; if I don't like what they see, I'll simply retreat the army at Nanchang to Changsha and do - nothing.

All troops to the east of the front are guerillas, which I keep sending east despite several defeats. They're doing a great job at 1. spotting Japanese units 2. keeping at least some Inf LCUs away from the front 3. driving Gary insane by cutting supply paths...



Ground combat at Nanchang:

01/31/42, Japanese Bombardment attack
Attacking force 1900 troops, 60 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 1953
Defending force 69819 troops, 308 guns, 3 vehicles, Assault Value = 1884
Allied ground losses: 320 casualties reported

02/01/42, Japanese Bombardment attack
Attacking force 1920 troops, 60 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 1968
Defending force 69502 troops, 312 guns, 3 vehicles, Assault Value = 1879
Allied ground losses: 68 casualties reported

02/02/42, Japanese Bombardment attack
Attacking force 2788 troops, 96 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 1994
Defending force 68909 troops, 317 guns, 3 vehicles, Assault Value = 1883
Allied ground losses: 211 casualties reported, Guns lost 4

02/03/42, Japanese Bombardment attack
Attacking force 3840 troops, 120 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 2014
Defending force 68694 troops, 318 guns, 3 vehicles, Assault Value = 1880
Allied ground losses: 296 casualties reported, Guns lost 1

02/04/42, Japanese Bombardment attack
Attacking force 3840 troops, 120 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 2039
Defending force 68469 troops, 316 guns, 3 vehicles, Assault Value = 1885
Allied ground losses: 216 casualties reported

The supply situtation is good, especially considering the fact that only Chinese bombers are flying in supplies from Ledo ATM (total supplies: 113.552). My fighters are training/flying CAP at Chunkging. All units have been set to receive replacement since weeks, and most LCUs have filled out to 95 % of their TOE - not supply is limiting this process, but the amount of Chinese Inf squads I receive every month. Forts - and only forts - are build in every Chinese city.

The Japanese air force is flying lots of training raids. No discernable movement of Japanese ground forces... everything quiet in the west...I have to be careful near Canton, though: since Hong Kong fell, he shouldt have the forces for another offensive here (the first one was defeated). Alternatively he could have moved thes troops to Luzon / Malaya.

[VSWG]

February 5th, 1942

Burma:

The British start their first air offensive (they'll probably regret is soon). So far, neither side has had air units in Burma at all! Today Blenheim IVs from Akyab destroyed 5 resource centers at Rangoon (undefended). The aim is to force Gary to deploy valuable Zeros in this theater, and to destroy as many resource centers as possible in order to cause him supply problems in Burma. Rangoon was reconned everyday for more than a week, so I'm a bit disappointed by this result. Tomorrow's target will be the resource centers at Moulmein (no recon so far).

First combat at Meiktila: the Japanese managed to destroy a fort, but it will be up again tomorrow. More importantly, Chinese troops arrive at Mandalay everyday (2 already there), and will make it to Meiktila in time. Meiktila is only supposed to be a speed bump, all troops are prepping for the defense of Mandalay - but then, so are the Japanese...



Malaya:

Another deliberate attack at Singapore after the usual daily air attack. This attack was weaker than the last one 4 days ago:

Attacking force 93003 troops, 336 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 1386
Defending force 80470 troops, 578 guns, 27 vehicles, Assault Value = 1027

Japanese max assault: 1198 - adjusted assault: 775
Allied max defense: 1093 - adjusted defense: 1738

Japanese assault odds: 0 to 1 (fort level 7)

Japanese ground losses:
2262 casualties reported
Guns lost 15

Allied ground losses:
952 casualties reported
Guns lost 28
Vehicles lost 1

This time the casualties are more to my liking. The enemy LCUs are getting weaker... Even better, this attack cost me only 300 supplies - still above 9.000.

DEI:

Bad news first:

1. Boela falls (near Amboina)
2. The Japanese APD Killer ASW TF send SS Stingray to the bottom near Balikpapan. All subs in the area are moving back to Java for repairs, refueling and rearming (and, last but not least, retreating from this monster TF)

Good news: Regarding the Merak convoy, I think we've crossed the line from 'Massacre' to 'Genozide'...

At night, the convoy didn't retreat, but returned to Merak! [X(] A lonely MTB however caused another retreat, so the convoy couldn't commence unloading. Dawn saw the convoy back at Merak again, still with valuable troops on board. Then recon planes sighted BB Kongo and Yamashiro one hex to the north. Each and every plane sortied in the AM phase (B-17s at Madioen, Hudsons at Soerabaja, Martins at Batavia, Dauntless at Bandoeng and Batavia) and managed several hits on the convoy, and set Yamashiro on fire with 4 bouncing bomb hits - lets see if my subs can find her at night.



In the PM phase, the battleships were rained in, so every plane sortied again, this time all against the convoy. I'll spare you from posting each and every combat report, here's the status of the Japanese convoy (included are yesterdays SC battle results):

AP Ayaha Maru, Shell hits 4, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
AP Bokuyo Maru, Shell hits 9, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
AP Burisuben Maru, Shell hits 3, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
AP Chihaya Maru, Bomb hits 1
AP Daaban Maru, Shell hits 6, on fire, heavy damage, and is sunk
AP Fukusei Maru, Shell hits 6, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage, and is sunk
AP Jinsai Maru, Bomb hits 4, on fire, heavy damage
AP Kiri Maru, Shell hits 8, on fire, heavy damage, and is sunk
AP Kiyozumi Maru, Shell hits 4, Bomb hits 15, on fire, heavy damage
AP Nitta Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire
AP Oigawa Maru, Bomb hits 6, on fire, heavy damage
AP Santos Maru, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
AP Syoka Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire
AP Taiyo Maru, Shell hits 3, Bomb hits 5, on fire, heavy damage
AP Terukuni Maru, Bomb hits 1, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage, and is sunk

MSW W.10, Shell hits 8, and is sunk
MSW W.11, Shell hits 6, on fire, heavy damage, and is sunk
MSW W.12, Shell hits 3, Bomb hits 3, on fire, heavy damage, and is sunk
PC Ch 1, Shell hits 8, on fire, heavy damage, and is sunk
PC Ch 2, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
PC Kyo Maru #11, Shell hits 6, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
PC Shonan Maru #1, Shell hits 5, and is sunk

[:D]

Japanese ground losses:
851

Summary:

15 AP: 5 sunk, 9 heavy damage, 3 light damage
3 MSW: 3 sunk
4 PC: 4 sunk

At Toboali, CA Cornwall and CL Perth found Nells instead of APs:



My CAP got mauled by the Oscars, but only one TT hit - that's acceptable. The obvious thing to do would be to move both ships to Batavia, so I'm doing something else: Perth will try to sneak past the I-boats near Merak, while Cornwall will (hopefully) auto-disband at Pontianak for one day before making the run herself.

At Balikpapan, 2 AKs from the Malang invasion were reported sunk - presumably the last victims of this adventure, as few damaged ships remain.

SoPac:

SS Pompano spotted (but didn't attack) a small Japanese TF west of Canton Island. These ships were part of the abandoned Canton invasion, maybe Gary will try it again? Or a bait for my carriers - KB is probably around. No counter-action is planned, except by subs, planes and PT boats. My carriers will proceed to Pearl Harbor and are already past Palmyra.

AP Haaburu Maru sinks near Tarawa - damaged near Baker Island by Hudsons a week ago.



Everywhere else:

Just the daily routine...

[VSWG]

February 6th and 7th, 1942

Burma:

46 Blenheim IV took off against Moulmein on the 7th - and no hits were scored. Shows the importance of recon, I guess. The next day the planes didn't take off at all. Tomorrow's target is Rangoon again. Still not a single Japanese plane in Burma.

Suddenly it got close at Meiktila:

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 17919 troops, 130 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 366
Defending force 17753 troops, 137 guns, 2 vehicles, Assault Value = 386

Japanese max assault: 359 - adjusted assault: 173
Allied max defense: 369 - adjusted defense: 141

Japanese assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 2)

Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 1

Japanese ground losses:
787 casualties reported
Guns lost 10

Allied ground losses:
129 casualties reported
Guns lost 3

But the next day the first Chinese Corps arrived, and the Japanese were defeated:

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 16808 troops, 119 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 311
Defending force 21036 troops, 153 guns, 2 vehicles, Assault Value = 477

Japanese max assault: 213 - adjusted assault: 80
Allied max defense: 443 - adjusted defense: 157

Japanese assault odds: 0 to 1 (fort level 2)

Japanese ground losses:
918 casualties reported
Guns lost 5

Allied ground losses:
192 casualties reported
Guns lost 4

Malaya:

Very bad news from Singapore: just the usual air and ground bombardments, but suddenly I'm down to 5000 supplies!? In two days I've lost 4000 supplies! I have no idea what happened, replacements are off, no AV value changed! This is very disturbing...

DEI:

I lost CL Perth and CA Cornwall... [8|] Gary managed a nice night-time intercept of Perth with his BBs (I thought he would bombard Batavia to kill my planes), and Cornwall didn't auto-disband at Pontianak (why? Why? WHY?) and was sunk by Nells. Yamashiro and Kongo are still burning, but my subs didn't find them.

*sigh



2 more days of slaughter near Merak - approximately 40 more bomb hits.



It looks like the 2 lightly damaged APs will get away. Otherwise, he has left the convoy at Merak (to unload supplies?), and moved the BBs to a position a few hexes away, probably to draw air attacks. Didn't work, all planes sortied against the convoy.

Philippines:

The usual.

China:

I'm retreating from Nanchang. The offensive against Kiukiang won't work because he can easily move one or two division from Nanchang to Kiukiang without endangering Nanchang itself. The daily losses to the Japanese bombardment are too high to balance the gain in experience, so I'm moving the southern army to Chnagsha and go into passive mode for now.

SWPac:

Salamaua fell to the 23rd NFL from Lae.

CentPac:

Everything quiet - good, some AKs are still unloading at Pago Pago, but everything important is ashore - the build-up can begin!

The convoy near Canton Island didn't move for another day, then disappered. It was probably a carrier bait...

2 more APs sunk near the Gilberts, still victims of the abandoned Canton Island invasion.

[VSWG]

Three rather uneventful days...

February 8th - 10th, 1942

Burma:

61 of the 100 resouce centers at Rangoon are now destroyed, and it doesn't look like Gary cares.



Stalemate at Meiktila, where the daily Japanese bombardment attacks cause minor casualties. In the hex to the southeast, the 33rd Division was identifield marching on Taung Gyi by Wirraways on ground attack.

Malaya:

Supply level at Singapore increased from 5000 to 6000?! Weird... anyway, my schedule for Singapore was completely off, because I didn't consider that Singapore's supply level is already orange, so no more supplies will move into the units. My troops are already undersupplied and are losing AV:

Ground combat at Singapore
&nbsp;
Japanese Deliberate attack
&nbsp;
Attacking force 92670 troops, 339 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 1359
Defending force 81150 troops, 593 guns, 27 vehicles, Assault Value = 1027
&nbsp;
Japanese max assault: 1333 - adjusted assault: 927&nbsp;
Allied max defense: 1116 - adjusted defense: 2149
&nbsp;
Japanese assault odds: 0 to 1 (fort level 8)&nbsp;
&nbsp;
Japanese ground losses:
1497 casualties reported
Guns lost 21
&nbsp;
Allied ground losses:
1185 casualties reported
Guns lost 32
Vehicles lost 1
&nbsp;
Still excellent odds, but last time my adjusted AV was 2500 with fort level 7 (fort building was now stopped). New estimated date for the fall of Singapore: the Ides of March (for the ancient history buffs).

DEI:

The few surviving ships of the Merak convoy have retreated to the northeast, only few air raids were flown (half a dozen bomb hits). My squadrons are in dire need of some rest. At Batavia, the Dutch tanks (the only unit that made it in time to Batavia from southern Java) were not enough to stop the first Japanese attack, now I'm flying in the Dutch Marines from Madioen. All other combat units are in Madioen, blocking the 2 Japanese Divisions at Malang - which are still not moving. Soerabaja is defended only by a couple of base forces to keep the airfield open - I've decided to abandon the city to avoid that my troops on Java are split into two. Evacuation of US, British and Dutch engineer units continues at Tijlitjap.



Philippines:

The usual air raids and ground bombardments. A convoy seems to be&nbsp; unload troops at Laoag - too far away for CL Boise.

China:

My retreating southern Army sufferes massive losses to Japanese bombardment attacks since on the march - 600 casualties on the 9th!! Otherwise, nothing to report.

SoPac:

The second wave of transports at Pago Pago has unloaded all troops and most of the supplies/fuel at Pago Pago. The third wave - a large troop convoy from Panama and smaller convoys from San Francisco, will arrive in a week, and will unload under the cover of 72 Warhawks, 12 Tomahawks and 35 Mohawks. Japanese float planes are spotting large amount of ships everyday, so Gary knows there's a build-up happening here.

On the 8th, I-24 torpedoed the Aquitania at Pago Pago, fortunately after she had unloaded a base force at Upolo - moderate damage. The next day, some DDs jumped her, but inflicted almost no damage (two near misses) - and on the 10th I-24 put another fish into AO Kanawha (again, only moderate damage)... no comment...

West of Canton Island, the convoy reappeared, and didn't move during the last days. Sadly the A-29s at Canton weren't able to score a hit (neither did SS Trout, but I'm already used to the abysmal performance of my submarines). Today carriers were sighted to the southwest of this convoy. Lets see what happens... All ships are leaving Pago Pago.



CentPac:

My carriers pulled into Pearl Harbor on the 9th - after a rather successful sortie, I might add... Good to know they're safe. Lots of wear'n tear damage to repair, so I'm moving BB Maryland (49 sys damage, now able to steam at 10 knots) to the West Coast. Only 1 victim of the Dec. 7th air raid remains at Pearl Harbor: BB Arizona (59 sys damage, 8 knots).

The other US BBs:

Oklahoma (0 sys damage) and California (4 sys damage) at Pearl Harbor - combat ready.
West Virginia (28 sys) and Nevada (13 sys) at San Francisco.
Tennessee (32 sys) and Tennessee (31 sys) at Los Angeles.
Colorado (7 sys) at Seattle - no progress for weeks!
Idaho, New Mexico and Mississippi are in SoPac, moving to Auckland to form a slow BB TF.

Three I-boats were lurking at Midway for the last couple of days. A small convoy with supplies and an artillery unit was closing in, so I created a large ASW TF (8 DDs and 6 MSWs) and sent it to Midway. Here's what happened:



Wow, this is fun....



...not!!

[VSWG]

Code: Select all

           Allies    Japan
 
 CV/CVL      0          0
 BB          0          2
 CA          3          0
 CL          4          3
 CS          0          2
 DD          9          17
 APD         0          1
 SS          8          6
 
 AP          6          46
 AK          122        29
 AO          4          0
 TK          19         0
 
 AV/AVD      7          0
 AS, AE, AR  5          0
 MSW         8          8
 SC          4          0
 PT          29         0
 PG/PC       17         28

[ctangus]

ORIGINAL: VSWG


Malaya:[/b]

Supply level at Singapore increased from 5000 to 6000?! Weird... anyway, my schedule for Singapore was completely off, because I didn't consider that Singapore's supply level is already orange, so no more supplies will move into the units. My troops are already undersupplied and are losing AV:

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 92670 troops, 339 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 1359
Defending force 81150 troops, 593 guns, 27 vehicles, Assault Value = 1027

Japanese max assault: 1333 - adjusted assault: 927
Allied max defense: 1116 - adjusted defense: 2149

Japanese assault odds: 0 to 1 (fort level 8)

Japanese ground losses:
1497 casualties reported
Guns lost 21

Allied ground losses:
1185 casualties reported
Guns lost 32
Vehicles lost 1[/color]

Still excellent odds, but last time my adjusted AV was 2500 with fort level 7 (fort building was now stopped). New estimated date for the fall of Singapore: the Ides of March (for the ancient history buffs).

Looking worrisome, true, but it's still a good show. One of these days I may try something different, but so far I've always tried to hold at Singapore until the Ides of March, so that those Japanese troops won't benefit from the invasion bonus during their next landing.

[ny59giants]

You might want to put Colorado into a TF and then on the next turn disband it again. Sometimes the repair routine seems to get stuck with certain ships.

If you could, please post what LCU and air units you have on your bases in the "East Pacific Wall" from Midway south. It seems that he is not done with probing them or even trying to invade them.

That seems like a lot of AK's you have lost. Andy was complaining that by the end of '44, he was running short of them. [&:]

[VSWG]

ORIGINAL: ctangus

Looking worrisome, true, but it's still a good show. One of these days I may try something different, but so far I've always tried to hold at Singapore until the Ides of March, so that those Japanese troops won't benefit from the invasion bonus during their next landing.

Good point, I don't think the troops will be ready again before the bonus expires.

I cannot stop thinking about another supply run to Singapore, but it is simply not possible. The northern approach is closed by the Malayan airfields and I-boats in the Malacca Strait, the southern approach is even worse with Kuching and Palembang in Japanese hands and even more I-boats between Java and Sumatra. Every attempt to resupply Singapore will be detected several days before the ship arrives, and even if they manage to reach Singapore (a very big 'if'), I cannot protect them in the harbor. I guess I have to 'let it go'... unless someone as an ingenious idea...?

ORIGINAL: ny59giants

You might want to put Colorado into a TF and then on the next turn disband it again. Sometimes the repair routine seems to get stuck with certain ships.

I've tried that alreay - several times. BTW, Warspite is even worse: started the game with 10 sys damage at Seattle, now at 5...

If you could, please post what LCU and air units you have on your bases in the "East Pacific Wall" from Midway south. It seems that he is not done with probing them or even trying to invade them.

Et voilà:



Canton Island is my weak spot here - Midway should be safe after two abandoned invasion attemps, and Johnston Island / Line Islands are rather useless for him now. The 25th US /C Div. is now prepping for Canton Island (original destination: Palmyra), but I don't know if the unit will arrive in time. ML Oglala is only two days away from Canton Island, BTW, and you can see in the previous screenshot that submarines started to operate in this area. Oh, and Gary is really afraid of PT boats... [;)]

Supplying CentPac bases was nearly impossible so far thanks to Gary's static subs at all bases. Sounds like a bad strategy to use I-boats, doesn't it? Well, consider the following:

• US ASW ships aren't really abundant in Dec. 1941, especially if you want to operate your carriers, too.
• there's almost no fuel in CentPac at game start, so it's hard to refuel these ASW TFs. And as long as there are I-boats present, you really don't want to run TKs into these bases. Catch 22...
• CentPac is a huge area to cover for ASW TFs - they rack up wear'n tear sys damage really fast when moving from base to base. And as soon as an ASW TF arrives, Gary simply pulls his I-boats out, waits until they leave, and moves back in.

Just recently the situation picked up, and now I have enough fuel to operate several large ASW TFs.

I'll post the screenshot for SoPac tomorrow - in a different format because I want to show you the troops that are scheduled for this theater, too. It's a rather long list; by initiating Operation Passenger I placed a lot of emphasis on the Samoan Islands.

That seems like a lot of AK's you have lost. Andy was complaining that by the end of '44, he was running short of them. [&:]

I know, I know... [:(]

I 'bought' me 15,000 extra supplies in Manila and 5,000 in Singapore by sacrificing almost the entire Dutch merchant fleet. It's a bit better than in looks, because I used rather 'expendable' AK classes to do this (there are some AK classes with only 350 cap. in CHS, for instance), but still... The TKs / AOs all died while evacuating oil from the DEI, and they took a considerably amount of oil with them to the bottom of the sea.