Threadwar 3x3 - Japanese Animal War

[Mike Solli]

19 Dec 41

We continue to pursue our liberation of the SRA.

Our subs didn't do much today. I-166 did sink an LCVP with a few shells off the coast of Palembang. The AP that Trusty damaged 2 days ago finally succumbed to that damage. The Stingray managed to get a lucky shot in (and the torp worked) and damaged an AP off the coast of Namlea. Also, KXVIII put a torpedo into an AK near Sandakan.

The Achilles unsuccessfully attempted to disrupt our liberation of Nauru Island. We had the Katori, 2 DDs, 3 APs and an AV present. There was minor damage inflicted on both sides, but the Achilles did have a 6" turret put out of action as well as it's radar. [:D] Off the coast of Sandakan, 3 old 4 stackers attacked an unescorted convoy of 7 AKs. Two AKs took minor damage and our glorious merchant fleet managed 2 hits on the DDs from their 3" peashooters which managed to destroy a DC rack. [:D] Our invasion force for Attu (4 DDs and 3 APs) met the AVD Teal at Attu and put her down with all hands. There goes a Catalina base. [;)]

Enemy mines are popping up all over. A PG hit a mine at Kendari and the AV Kunikawa Maru struck another at Kwajalein. Both ships will recover, but will need yard time.

The air war is beginning to heat up. Allied bombers are popping up all over. A Hudson and B-17 each damaged an AP. The Lae invasion force was struck hard by A-24 flying out of Pt. Moresby. Four APs were hit (after unloading their cargos) by a total of 7 1000 lb. bombs. None has sunk but we'll see if they make it to port. This serious damage gave us some very important intell for our future ops, which will be discussed below. Our venerable Nells flying out of Kuching sank 2 TKs at Palembang. Also, 2 Allied AKs sank from previous damage.

There was a lot of preparation for future ground ops. We landed at Manado, Namlea and Kendari. Our magnificent rowboat corps took Howland Is. We attacked Lae but the dice weren't in our favor. We failed to take it. We had plenty of supply and the troops had low fatigue and disruption. I'm confident we'll secure that base tomorrow. Faber continued to bombard Clark Field. Bruce took Georgetown. I took Attu. That force will load up (a BF will land in a couple of days to be Attu's garrison) and head to Adak.

We finally saved enough PPs to transfer the South Seas Detachment (currently at Truk) to the Southeast Fleet. That unit will spearhead the invasion of Pt. Moresby. It is currently loading on transports and will head south in a couple of days. There is a 2 BB SAG to support them as well as KB! KB will arrive at Truk tomorrow and will leave with about 430 aircraft. A few daitai flew ahead to Truk to absorb replacement chutai. Included in the ground forces are a SNLF and 2-3 NLFs as well as a large BF. Right now there are no additional aircraft allocated to the SE Fleet (beyond the 54 fighters, 27 Bettys and some recon and float planes). I suspect Faber will allocate more aircraft when PM is taken. The Allied bombing of the Lae invasion force with the A-24s has alerted me to the potential harm they can cause. I will ensure that KB remains 4-5 hexes from PM at all times to protect the carriers from harm. The goal of this invasion is to secure PM as well as sweep the surrounding seas of any Allied shipping.

[Mike Solli]

20 Dec 41
 
This was a relatively quiet turn in the air and on the seas, but a nice turn on land.  Subs on both sides failed to score with one exception.  An Allied AK hit a Japanese sub laid mine in Colombo.  Also, an Allied AK sank from old damage.  Some of our ASW forces did get a couple of near misses on the Pike.  It probably wasn't enough to send her home. 
 
In the air, some of Bruce's Nells out of Kuching put down the PG Scorpion near Tobali.  A Martin put a 250 lb bomb into Chitose near Kendari.  Her damage was 19-4-14.  It's not severe, but she will have to head home for repairs.
 
We were successful in liberating 3 bases from the Allies this turn. [:D]  Kendari fell.  We destroyed a couple of Martins on the ground and incurred only 20 resource damage.  Lae fell too.  We stationed some fighters there to protect the convoys dropping off supply there.  Manado also fell, and we caught one of those pain in the butt Kingfishers on the ground.  Also, NE of Honan, the Chinese attacked one of our units and got pummelled for their effort. Lastly, the Chinese were pushed out of the hex NE of Hankow.

[Mike Solli]

Next I'm going to show a series of maps so you all can see our progress in the first 2 weeks of the war. This is the Philippines. Faber controls the Northern part, as you can see. He is currently building his forces to take Clark Field, which he has been bombarding for some days now.

[Mike Solli]

Here is the Phlilppines again showing Fabers forces at Clark Field. There are more forces entering the fray including another infantry division and brigade.

[Mike Solli]

Here is Borneo, Java and the surrounding area.

[Mike Solli]

Here's the Southern SRA.

[Mike Solli]

Here's Malaya.

[Mike Solli]

Here's the Chinese furball.

[Mike Solli]

Here are the Aleutians.

[Mike Solli]

Here is the Rabaul area.

[Mike Solli]

And finally, here is the Strategic Map.

[Mike Solli]

So far, the damage to captured oil and resource centers is minimal.  A total of 36 oil centers are damaged, including 29 at Brunei.  Next turn enough supply will land there to be able to complete repairs in the next month.  the remaining damage is to Miri (3), Amboina (3), and Boela (1).  Miri gets a supply convoy tomorrow and Amboina will get enough supply in the next day or two.
 
There are 23 resource centers with damage.  20 is at Kendari.  No supply convoys are headed there yet due to Kendari being deep in enemy territory at this time.  There is almost 10k supply there and 480 functional centers, so repair should occur sporadically until supply arrives.  Ban Don has 1 damage and Tuguegaro has 2.  If they repair, fine, if not, that's fine too.
 

[Mike Solli]

21 Dec 41
 
Another great day for the Imperial Japanese.  I-165 parked itself in the straits between Summatra and Java and found a couple of wonderful targets.  First, she caught and put a torpedo into the AR Barentsz, who dutifully went down.  Later in the day she put two torps into the DM Thracian.  If I remember correctly, she caught a Nell torpedo early in the war.  I suspect she's doomed but we didn't see her go down.  Also, one of our APD ASW TFs caught the Dutch O16 near Kuching and put her down for good with 4 DC hits and numerous near misses.
 
A 6 DD TF caught an Allied AK near Cebu Is. and put her down.  Also some Bettys put 4 torps into another Allied AK, sinking her.
 
We had 2 APs sink from old damage, and the Pike put a torpedo into another AP Mizuho Maru, damaging her.  The damage to the Mizuho Maru was so slight, she was able to stay in the convoy containing the 33 ID bound for Bangkok.  A-24s from Makassar put 3 500 lb bombs into the Fuso at Kendari, merely scratching the paint and starting a small fire.  Her damage was 1-0-8.
 
On the ground, Faber tested the defenses at Clark field, determining the fort level is 2.  Also, the adjusted Allied AV was about 2/3 it's max AV.  They have a supply problem that isn't likely to get any better.
 
Bruce pushed the Allied out of the hex NE of Johore Bahru.  The British forces in the Malay Peninsula are effectively cut in two.  Bruce also took Taiping.  I attacked the Chinese force SE of Tsinan.  Their supply is almost gone.  A couple more attacks on these two units and they'll surrender.
 
Lastly, Namlea fell.

[Mike Solli]

Here is my plan for China. I'm sending a division west out of Nanking to push out the 2 Chinese units there and reestablish my supply line. Also, a large force is gathering at Sinyang to push north to take Honan. This will isolate to large groups of Chinese shown in red. The elimination of these Chinese forces will probably take quite a while, since it takes so long to kill units that are not in bases.

The requirement for the Japanese to garrison bases in China and the starting mess drastically reduces the forces the Japanese have available for offensive operations. It slows down operations a great deal. Once the two Chinese pockets are formed, I'll then work toward preparing an offensive south from Kiukiang/Nanchang south to Foochow. This will pocket the Chinese forces to the east (shown in green). Given the mess I've started with, I suspect this will take close to a year.

[Mike Solli]

22 Dec 41
 
Sorry for the delay.  Faber was gone for a week, invading the US.  His invasion was repulsed and he's back at home so our war has resumed.
 
Things were (relatively) quiet.  Not much of a sub war.  What did happen wasn't good for us.  The I-158 was caught by ASW forces and sunk.  Another nasty British sub (Truant) put 3 torps into a damaged AK and put her down as well.
 
In the air, Lilys sank an AK off the coast of Malaya and damaged another AK.  The Allies tried to bomb Kendari.  They sent 13 B-17s.  Six were turned back and the remaining 7 inflicted only minor damage to the base that was easily repaired.
 
In the land war, I landed troops at Adak.  Faber bombarded Clark Field again.  Bruce took Alor Star, which resulted in the 6th Indian Brigade surrendering. 

[Mike Solli]

23 Dec 41
 
Relatively quiet day today.  We received a PC as a replacement. [:D] (Gotta celebrate all that we can for as long as we can.)  Not much under the sea today.  Our ASW forces lightly damaged the Porpoise.
 
The DD Shikinami struck a mine at Kuching receiving moderate damage (56-54-18).  She'll sit in port until the fires and flot damage are under control. 
 
In the air, our Lilys out of Malaya struck the AK s Jacob again hitting her with an additional 3 100 kg bombs.  Hopefully, this will do her in.  US B-17s, flying out of Balikpapan, struck Kendari again.  4 of 6 were turned back, and the remaining 2 hit the airfield causing light damage (already repaired) and getting a lucky hit on a Zero on the ground.
 
On the ground, Faber landed at Morotai and Bruce took Kuala Lumpur (96 resources damaged out of 600). [:@]  I'll probably not send precious supply to repair it.  Assuming the AI doesn't move the 500 supply produced there every turn, those resources will be repaired in less than half a year.  We'll see.  My rowboat corps took New Hanover (just N. of Kavieng).  Faber attacked Clark Field and reduced the fort level from 2 to 1.  I figure that Clark Field will fall in about a week or so.

[fabertong]

I hope Clark will fall in a week........but it may hold longer.................there are another 10 units at Manila.........I think Niceguy will try and retreat to make his stand there......rather than Bataan....which has only 1 unit in place...........Once I have invested Manila....I'll move a couple of NLFs into the south to make sure that Manila is his last stand.....and I don't have to chase him to Legaspi.......

[fabertong]

A little map to show the Ops around Sulawesi...................

[Mike Solli]

24 Dec 41
 
Nice turn today.  The sub war was a bust on both sides.  Several attempts but no luck. 
 
In the air, Lilys hit the AK s Jacob for the third day straight, this time with 6 100 kg bombs.  That makes 11 bomb hits on the ship and we still didn't see her go down.
 
I had sent the CLs Tama and Kiso along with 5 old DDs and an additional 4 DDs in another TF to bombard Adak before assaulting it tomorrow.  The Allies sent in an unusual TF composed of an AVD, 3 PCs, a PG, and 2 MSWs.  My CL TF hit them a couple of times and the 4 DDs hit them once.  Our damage was a 5" hit on Naka, which bounced off and a 3" hit on a DD which did no noticable damage.  They lost the AVD (4th so far) and an MSW.  Two PCs were heavily damaged with additional damage to a PC and PG. 
 
On the ground Pinrang, Djambi and Tomini were all taken by air assault.  In addition, Morotai fell.  Bruce landed a brigade at Pontianak after it was bombarded by 2 BBs, 2 CAs and a CL.  Bruce also attacked Johore Bahru, reducing the fort level to 1.  Johore Bahru is defended by the 2 Australian Bdes and support units.  Additionally, Faber bombarded Clark Field again.

[Mike Solli]

Christmas Day, 1941
 
Relatively quiet turn, but good for us.  The damn Trusty struck again off the coast of Malaya.  In 2 attacks, she put 3 torpedoes and half a dozen 4" shells into an AP, which sank like a rock.  The only other things that happened were the DM Thracian finally sinking to old aerial torpedo damage and the AK s Jacob finally going down from the old Lily damage.  Also, we lost an AP to old damage.
 
On the ground, I took Adak Island and landed a NLF at Wewak.  Bruce took Pontianak and Malacca.  He attacked Johore Bahru (fort level 1) and caused 138 casualties to 84 Japanese casualties.  His AV was low, probably due to supply, although I haven't had a chance to look at the turn to see why that happened.  Faber bombarded Clark Field again to discover that the cowardly Americans and Philippinos had evacuated.  I suspect they went to Manila, but I'm not sure.  Faber will take Clark next turn and continue with the liberation of the Philippines.