Stopping an Invidious Empire.

[Nemo121]

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 03/07/42

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ASW attack near Singapore [UK] at 22,51

Japanese Ships
DD RTN Patani

Allied Ships
SS KXII

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ASW attack near Singapore [UK] at 22,51

Japanese Ships
DD RTN Patani

Allied Ships
SS KXII

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Day Air attack on Nanning [S China] , at 40,38

Japanese aircraft
Me-109E-4 Mike x 3
Ki-51 Sonia x 100
Ki-15II/C5M2 Babs x 1

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-51 Sonia: 1 destroyed, 1 damaged


Allied ground losses:
65 casualties reported
Guns lost 4

Airbase hits 2
Airbase supply hits 5
Runway hits 96

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Day Air attack on Port Moresby [NG] , at 54,93

Japanese aircraft
A6M2-N Rufe-FF x 4
D3A2 Val/Ki-52 x 13

Japanese aircraft losses
D3A2 Val/Ki-52: 1 destroyed, 3 damaged

Airbase hits 1
Airbase supply hits 2
Runway hits 9

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Day Air attack on Noumea [New Cal] , at 66,117

Japanese aircraft
A6M2/Ki-65 Zeke x 19
E13A1 Jake x 1
Ki-21-II Sally x 101
Ki-49 -I Helen x 3

No Japanese losses


Allied ground losses:
17 casualties reported
Vehicles lost 1

Airbase hits 1
Airbase supply hits 4
Runway hits 88

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Day Air attack on Pearl Harbor [Oahu] , at 114,72

Japanese aircraft
Me-109E-4 Mike x 26
Ki-21-II Sally x 12
Ki-46-II/C7M2 Dinah x 2

Allied aircraft
F4F-4/FM-1 Wildcat x 2

Japanese aircraft losses
Me-109E-4 Mike: 1 destroyed
Ki-21-II Sally: 5 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
F4F-4/FM-1 Wildcat: 1 destroyed

Airbase hits 1
Runway hits 12

A Wildcat shot down a Mike. Not bad.

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Day Air attack on Pearl Harbor [Oahu] , at 114,72

Japanese aircraft
A6M2/Ki-65 Zeke x 10
Me-109E-4 Mike x 49
Ki-21-II Sally x 20

Allied aircraft
no flights

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-21-II Sally: 2 destroyed, 3 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
F4F-4/FM-1 Wildcat: 1 destroyed

Airbase hits 4
Runway hits 19

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Day Air attack on Pearl Harbor [Oahu] , at 114,72

Japanese aircraft
A6M2/Ki-65 Zeke x 46
Me-109E-4 Mike x 10
Ki-21-II Sally x 35

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-21-II Sally: 3 destroyed

The FlAK over PH is just eating him alive.

Airbase hits 5
Runway hits 29

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Day Air attack on Anchorage [Alaska] , at 113,28

Japanese aircraft
A6M2/Ki-65 Zeke x 31
Ki-32/30 Mary/Ann x 102
Ki-46-II/C7M2 Dinah x 6

Allied aircraft
no flights

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-32/30 Mary/Ann: 1 destroyed, 1 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
B-18A/B-23 Bolo: 2 destroyed


Allied ground losses:
16 casualties reported
Guns lost 2

Airbase hits 10
Airbase supply hits 2
Runway hits 31

Well it looks like he really is serious about taking most of Alaska. I'm going to commit two x P-40 groups there ( one E, one B ) and am drafting in a couple of additional regiments. It should suffice.

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Day Air attack on Red 22nd Group Army , at 52,30

Japanese aircraft
Ki-27 Nate x 17

No Japanese losses


Allied ground losses:
23 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

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Day Air attack on ROC 70th Field Army , at 46,37

Japanese aircraft
A5M4 Claude x 27

No Japanese losses


Allied ground losses:
8 casualties reported

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Ground combat at 67,32

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 27757 troops, 415 guns, 229 vehicles, Assault Value =
778

Defending force 3571 troops, 25 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 131

Japanese max assault: 765 - adjusted assault: 695

Allied max defense: 76 - adjusted defense: 7

Japanese assault odds: 99 to 1


Japanese ground losses:
434 casualties reported
Guns lost 12
Vehicles lost 2

Allied ground losses:
191 casualties reported
Guns lost 10


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Ground combat at 50,32

Allied Shock attack

Attacking force 3586 troops, 73 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 581

Defending force 19086 troops, 324 guns, 92 vehicles, Assault Value =
523

Allied max assault: 144 - adjusted assault: 5

Japanese max defense: 529 - adjusted defense: 762

Allied assault odds: 0 to 1


Japanese ground losses:
53 casualties reported
Guns lost 3

Allied ground losses:
918 casualties reported
Guns lost 34

This was just a Shock Attack forced by one of my units retreating over a river into an enemy-occupied hex.


And in other news what looks like a large gaggle of BBs and CAs looks like it is getting ready to sprint in and bombard Rangoon. In retaliation I have flown in 70 Pe-2s and 30 Il-4 torpedo bombers. I've moved a few fighters into Moulmein to make room for them. I expect to take heavy losses from the bombardment but I expect to be able to make up those airframe losses by striking back hard with these 100 bombers an catching a couple of the enemy heavy units ( CAs and BBs ).

I think we're about to see several score planes and pilots destroyed plus, perhaps, a couple of cruisers. Either that or the IJN will nuke-bombard and I'll lose a hundred planes for nothing.

[Nemo121]

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 03/08/42

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Sub attack near Victoria Point [BMA] at 25,39

Japanese Ships
AO Tsurumi
DD Hibiki

Allied Ships
SS SHCH135

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Day Air attack on Nanning [S China] , at 40,38

Japanese aircraft
Me-109E-4 Mike x 12
Ki-51 Sonia x 99
Ki-15II/C5M2 Babs x 1

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-51 Sonia: 2 destroyed


Allied ground losses:
30 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

Airbase hits 6
Airbase supply hits 4
Runway hits 78

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Day Air attack on Moulmein [Burma] , at 30,34

Japanese aircraft
A6M2/Ki-65 Zeke x 31

Allied aircraft
Martlet II/III x 4
Seafire I/II x 7
Sea Hurricane x 3
MiG-3 x 15

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2/Ki-65 Zeke: 6 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
Martlet II/III : 1 destroyed
Sea Hurricane: 1 destroyed
MiG-3: 1 destroyed

2:1 in my favour. Not bad. I worked out the speeds in my fighters in this mix with great care and it seems to be working very well. Basically I figured that a hi-lo mix would work best and so I put this mix in. It certainly seems to protect the low speed members of the pack and lets them get their licks in. So, cue another one up to reasoned experimentation.

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Day Air attack on Pearl Harbor [Oahu] , at 114,72

Japanese aircraft
Me-109E-4 Mike x 60
Ki-21-II Sally x 14
Ki-46-II/C7M2 Dinah x 3

Allied aircraft
F4F-4/FM-1 Wildcat x 1

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-21-II Sally: 1 destroyed, 1 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
F4F-4/FM-1 Wildcat: 1 destroyed

Runway hits 14

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Day Air attack on Pearl Harbor [Oahu] , at 114,72

Japanese aircraft
A6M2/Ki-65 Zeke x 46
Me-109E-4 Mike x 3
Ki-21-II Sally x 25

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-21-II Sally: 2 destroyed, 2 damaged


Allied ground losses:
4 casualties reported

Airbase hits 1
Runway hits 31

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Day Air attack on Red 22nd Group Army , at 52,30

Japanese aircraft
Ki-27 Nate x 17

No Japanese losses

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Day Air attack on AA Lark Force Battalion, at 61,91

Japanese aircraft
A6M2/Ki-65 Zeke x 13
B5N2/Ki-47 Kate x 8

No Japanese losses

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Day Air attack on Tavoy [Burma] , at 28,37

Japanese aircraft
A6M2/Ki-65 Zeke x 3
Me-109E-4 Mike x 26

Allied aircraft
P-40E Warhawk x 20
Spitfire VB x 18
I-16 Type 24 x 18
Pe-2 x 65

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2/Ki-65 Zeke: 2 destroyed
Me-109E-4 Mike: 17 destroyed
G3M2/Ki-42 Nell: 2 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
P-40E Warhawk: 8 destroyed
Spitfire VB: 4 destroyed
I-16 Type 24: 4 destroyed
Pe-2: 3 destroyed, 6 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
44 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

Airbase hits 11
Airbase supply hits 2
Runway hits 25

And another excellent result. 13 Me-109s are destroyed in the air with another 7 destroyed on the ground by the Pe-2s. Only 1 Pe-2 was lost in A2A combat so they've proved themselves as well.

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Day Air attack on Moulmein [Burma] , at 30,34

Japanese aircraft
A6M2/Ki-65 Zeke x 22
Ki-15II/C5M2 Babs x 1

Allied aircraft
Martlet II/III x 3
Seafire I/II x 7
Sea Hurricane x 3
MiG-3 x 15

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2/Ki-65 Zeke: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
MiG-3: 1 destroyed

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Day Air attack on Anchorage [Alaska] , at 113,28

Japanese aircraft
A6M2/Ki-65 Zeke x 23
Ki-32/30 Mary/Ann x 81
Ki-46-II/C7M2 Dinah x 1

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-32/30 Mary/Ann: 1 destroyed


Allied ground losses:
16 casualties reported
Vehicles lost 1

Airbase hits 15
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 35

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Ground combat at Kaifeng [Cent China]

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 41463 troops, 608 guns, 29 vehicles, Assault Value =
1766

Defending force 0 troops, 0 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 0

Japanese max assault: 1098 - adjusted assault: 930

Allied max defense: 0 - adjusted defense: 1

Japanese assault odds: 930 to 1 (fort level 0)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Kaifeng [Cent China] base !!!



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Ground combat at 67,32

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 27373 troops, 404 guns, 227 vehicles, Assault Value =
764

Defending force 3266 troops, 11 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 123

Japanese max assault: 744 - adjusted assault: 551

Allied max defense: 72 - adjusted defense: 7

Japanese assault odds: 78 to 1


Japanese ground losses:
208 casualties reported
Guns lost 9

Allied ground losses:
191 casualties reported
Guns lost 4


And here you can see the losses for today. 48 Japanese planes are destroyed in return for just 30 Allied planes. Admittedly about a dozen of these Japanese planes were destroyed on the ground so no pilots died there but still this isn't a bad result at all as a 1:1 exchange rate works relatively well in my favour for now.

Rangoon is almost fully repaired, Moulmein now has received CAP and the other Level 3 airbase in Burma has 80 or so fighters on CAP and enough engineers to build it to a Level 4 airbase within a couple of weeks. Sooner rather than later Burma is going to be a fully functional fighter and torpedo-bomber base.

[Nemo121]

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 03/09/42

Well, we just had our own version of Adlertag. There was naval combat, massive aerial combat and a major ground crash. All three areas saw stinging Japanese defeats. Losses weren't exactly massive anywhere but in March 1942 any setbacks for Japan are a cause for Allied celebration.

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Night Time Surface Combat, near Luganville [New Heb] at 71,111

Japanese Ships
DE Uji, Shell hits 2, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
AP Mikage Maru #2, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
AP Kagi Maru
AK Yamatama Maru
AK Bengal Maru
AK Tangshan Maru, Shell hits 1
PG RTN Sri Ayuthia

Allied Ships
PT -46
PT -59
PT -60
PT -61

On its second raid of the month my PT squadron made contact with the enemy and managed to cause his TF some significant loss.

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Day Air attack on Nanning [S China] , at 40,38

Japanese aircraft
Ki-51 Sonia x 97
Ki-15II/C5M2 Babs x 1

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-51 Sonia: 1 destroyed, 2 damaged

Airbase hits 7
Airbase supply hits 4
Runway hits 86

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Day Air attack on Moulmein [Burma] , at 30,34

Japanese aircraft
Me-109E-4 Mike x 27

Allied aircraft
Martlet II/III x 3
Seafire I/II x 10
Sea Hurricane x 7
MiG-3 x 10

Japanese aircraft losses
Me-109E-4 Mike: 8 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
Martlet II/III : 2 destroyed
Seafire I/II: 1 destroyed
Sea Hurricane: 1 destroyed
MiG-3: 5 destroyed

And with 1:1 odds my pilots can achieve a 1:1 kill rate when defending their own bases. Overall this means I'm killing a greater proportion of his pilot pool per unit time than he is of mine.

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Day Air attack on Noumea [New Cal] , at 66,117

Japanese aircraft
A6M2/Ki-65 Zeke x 20
E13A1 Jake x 2
Ki-21-II Sally x 101
Ki-49 -I Helen x 3

No Japanese losses


Allied ground losses:
32 casualties reported
Vehicles lost 1

Airbase hits 3
Airbase supply hits 3
Runway hits 78

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Day Air attack on Pearl Harbor [Oahu] , at 114,72

Japanese aircraft
Me-109E-4 Mike x 37
Ki-21-II Sally x 12
Ki-46-II/C7M2 Dinah x 2

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-21-II Sally: 1 destroyed, 2 damaged

Airbase hits 1
Runway hits 8

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Day Air attack on Pearl Harbor [Oahu] , at 114,72

Japanese aircraft
Me-109E-4 Mike x 31
Ki-21-II Sally x 21

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-21-II Sally: 3 destroyed, 2 damaged

Airbase hits 4
Runway hits 29

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Day Air attack on Pearl Harbor [Oahu] , at 114,72

Japanese aircraft
A6M2/Ki-65 Zeke x 45
Me-109E-4 Mike x 9
Ki-21-II Sally x 31

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-21-II Sally: 2 destroyed, 1 damaged

Airbase hits 2
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 22

That's 6 Sallys destroyed by FlAK over PH in just one day. OUCH !!!

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Day Air attack on TF at 46,130

Japanese aircraft
A6M2/Ki-65 Zeke x 44
D3A2 Val/Ki-52 x 23
B5N2/Ki-47 Kate x 54
E13A1 Jake x 2

No Japanese losses

Allied Ships
CL Manowai, Bomb hits 3, Torpedo hits 4, on fire, heavy damage
AP Akaroa, Torpedo hits 3, on fire, heavy damage
PC Doomba, Bomb hits 3, on fire, heavy damage


Allied ground losses:
50 casualties reported
Guns lost 4

CVA Yamato and compatriots- it looks like Zuiho and a couple of others - snuck in between NZ and Oz and managed to take a piece of NZA 3rd Home Defence Bde out of play. No biggie, about 90% of the forces from NZ are already in Oz or on their way to India.

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Day Air attack on TF at 46,130

Japanese aircraft
A6M2/Ki-65 Zeke x 9
B5N2/Ki-47 Kate x 12

No Japanese losses

Allied Ships
CL Manowai, on fire, heavy damage

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Day Air attack on TF at 46,130

Japanese aircraft
A6M2/Ki-65 Zeke x 4
B5N2/Ki-47 Kate x 18

No Japanese losses

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Day Air attack on Rangoon [Burma] , at 29,33

189 Japanese fighters and bombers attack Rangoon. The service damage is still plaguing my teams and only approximately 1/3rd of my fighter force rises to challenge them. Still the 68 fighters do an excellent job and down 44 enemy planes. 9 Spitfires and a half-dozen other fighters are destroyed on the ground but, overall, Rangoon holds and it will be a day or two before a similar-sized raid can be mounted, by which timeI will have repaired the service damage and should be able to put a much stronger CAP into the air.

Japanese aircraft
A6M2/Ki-65 Zeke x 32
Ki-32/30 Mary/Ann x 87
Ki-48-I Lily x 70

Allied aircraft
P-40E Warhawk x 11
Hurricane I x 17
Spitfire VB x 22
I-16 Type 24 x 18

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2/Ki-65 Zeke: 12 destroyed
Ki-32/30 Mary/Ann: 16 destroyed, 1 damaged
Ki-48-I Lily: 19 destroyed, 3 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
P-40E Warhawk: 4 destroyed, 3 damaged
Hurricane I: 5 destroyed
Spitfire VB: 9 destroyed, 5 damaged
I-16 Type 24: 5 destroyed, 4 damaged
IL-4C/DB-3F: 2 destroyed
Sunderland III: 2 destroyed


Allied ground losses:
35 casualties reported
Guns lost 1
Vehicles lost 1

Airbase hits 6
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 32

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Ground combat at 67,32

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 27122 troops, 396 guns, 225 vehicles, Assault Value =
754

Defending force 2988 troops, 4 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 109

Japanese max assault: 742 - adjusted assault: 664

Allied max defense: 63 - adjusted defense: 3

Japanese assault odds: 221 to 1


Japanese ground losses:
197 casualties reported
Guns lost 8
Vehicles lost 2

Allied ground losses:
4945 casualties reported
Guns lost 63

A surrounded Soviet division finally surrenders.

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Ground combat at 43,40

Allied Shock attack

Attacking force 46068 troops, 789 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value =
2225

Defending force 44605 troops, 695 guns, 93 vehicles, Assault Value =
1282

Allied max assault: 4224 - adjusted assault: 2495

Japanese max defense: 1379 - adjusted defense: 912

Allied assault odds: 2 to 1

Japanese ground losses:
789 casualties reported
Guns lost 30
Vehicles lost 4

Allied ground losses:
2954 casualties reported
Guns lost 133

Defeated Japanese Units Retreating!

Just north-east of Canton Chinese forces deliver a stinging defeat to 3 Japanese divisions and an IJA Brigade forcing them to auto-retreat into Canton itself. Since a single auto-retreat costs each unit inolved 20% of its strength this means Japan has just lost the equivalent of 70% of a division. Not bad for a single afternoon's work. Even better I can now bottle the Japanese up in Canton and concentrate on exploiting opportunities elsewhere.

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Ground combat at 46,37

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 850 troops, 0 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 27

Defending force 40371 troops, 645 guns, 2 vehicles, Assault Value =
1954

Japanese max assault: 28 - adjusted assault: 0

Allied max defense: 2035 - adjusted defense: 4645

Japanese assault odds: 0 to 1

Japanese ground losses:
334 casualties reported

Jagdfluger is having a look at the force blocking the road to Changsha. Unfortunately for him I haven't neglected to keep it relatively strong. 4500 AV will be a tough nut for anyone to crack.

The picture below is very "busy" but I think it shows just how much significant action there was this turn. 50 Allied and 78 Japanese planes were lost this turn. About 1/3rd of the Allied pilots survived but very few of the Japanese ones did. Like I said, not a bad afternoon's work.

[Nemo121]

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 03/10/42

Things quieten down again after the last few days of heavy losses.

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Day Air attack on Nanning [S China] , at 40,38

Japanese aircraft
Me-109E-4 Mike x 6
Ki-51 Sonia x 82

No Japanese losses

Airbase hits 4
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 61

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Day Air attack on Port Moresby [NG] , at 54,93

Japanese aircraft
A6M2-N Rufe-FF x 4
D3A2 Val/Ki-52 x 12

Japanese aircraft losses
D3A2 Val/Ki-52: 2 destroyed

Airbase hits 3
Runway hits 13

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Day Air attack on Noumea [New Cal] , at 66,117

Japanese aircraft
A6M2/Ki-65 Zeke x 20
Ki-21-II Sally x 96
Ki-49 -I Helen x 3

No Japanese losses


Allied ground losses:
4 casualties reported

Airbase hits 2
Airbase supply hits 2
Runway hits 52

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Day Air attack on Pearl Harbor [Oahu] , at 114,72

Japanese aircraft
Me-109E-4 Mike x 58
Ki-46-II/C7M2 Dinah x 1

Allied aircraft
F4F-4/FM-1 Wildcat x 1

Japanese aircraft losses
Me-109E-4 Mike: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
F4F-4/FM-1 Wildcat: 1 destroyed

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Day Air attack on Pearl Harbor [Oahu] , at 114,72

Japanese aircraft
Me-109E-4 Mike x 51

No Japanese losses

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Day Air attack on Red 22nd Group Army , at 52,30

Japanese aircraft
Ki-27 Nate x 17

No Japanese losses


Allied ground losses:
3 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

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Day Air attack on ROC 99th Field Army , at 46,37

Japanese aircraft
A5M4 Claude x 26

Japanese aircraft losses
A5M4 Claude: 3 damaged


Allied ground losses:
2 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

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Day Air attack on JAAF 52nd Engineer Aviation Battalion, at 46,37

Allied aircraft
Lancer/P-43 x 9

No Allied losses

I decided to train a few P-43s in China. If this goes well I might bring in a whole horde of them to undergo training. Sure the P-43s aren't great BUT with 70 Exp pilots they can transfer to I-16 Type4s and provide cheap CAP over my rear bases.

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Day Air attack on Anchorage [Alaska] , at 113,28

Japanese aircraft
A6M2/Ki-65 Zeke x 29
Ki-32/30 Mary/Ann x 93
Ki-46-II/C7M2 Dinah x 1

Allied aircraft
P-39D Airacobra x 11

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-32/30 Mary/Ann: 2 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
P-39D Airacobra: 10 destroyed

Airbase hits 11
Airbase supply hits 4
Runway hits 59

Ouch!!! 10 P-39s downed for no reply.

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Day Air attack on TF at 44,129

Japanese aircraft
A6M2/Ki-65 Zeke x 69
B5N2/Ki-47 Kate x 12
E13A1 Jake x 2

No Japanese losses

Allied Ships
PC Doomba, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage

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Ground combat at 46,37

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 38528 troops, 642 guns, 2 vehicles, Assault Value =
1957

Defending force 408 troops, 0 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 1

Allied max assault: 1933 - adjusted assault: 1677

Japanese max defense: 0 - adjusted defense: 1

Allied assault odds: 1677 to 1

Japanese ground losses:
56 casualties reported

Defeated Japanese Units Retreating!

Just a little mopping up.

[Nemo121]

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 03/11/42

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Day Air attack on Nanning [S China] , at 40,38

Japanese aircraft
A6M2/Ki-65 Zeke x 6
Ki-51 Sonia x 92

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-51 Sonia: 1 damaged

Airbase hits 5
Airbase supply hits 2
Runway hits 99

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Day Air attack on Noumea [New Cal] , at 66,117

Japanese aircraft
A6M2/Ki-65 Zeke x 19
Ki-21-II Sally x 87
Ki-49 -I Helen x 3

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-21-II Sally: 1 damaged


Allied ground losses:
6 casualties reported

Airbase hits 5
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 74

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Day Air attack on Pearl Harbor [Oahu] , at 114,72

Japanese aircraft
Me-109E-4 Mike x 60
Ki-46-II/C7M2 Dinah x 1

No Japanese losses

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Pearl Harbor [Oahu] , at 114,72

Japanese aircraft
Me-109E-4 Mike x 51

No Japanese losses

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Red 22nd Group Army , at 52,30

Japanese aircraft
Ki-27 Nate x 17

No Japanese losses

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on ROC 99th Field Army , at 46,37

Japanese aircraft
A5M4 Claude x 26

Japanese aircraft losses
A5M4 Claude: 1 destroyed


Allied ground losses:
20 casualties reported

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Day Air attack on AA Lark Force Battalion, at 61,91

Japanese aircraft
A6M2/Ki-65 Zeke x 13
B5N2/Ki-47 Kate x 9

No Japanese losses

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on JAAF 52nd Engineer Aviation Battalion, at 47,38


Allied aircraft
Lancer/P-43 x 10

No Allied losses

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Ground combat at 50,32

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 54283 troops, 829 guns, 364 vehicles, Assault Value =
1566

Defending force 2084 troops, 18 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 60

Japanese max assault: 1383 - adjusted assault: 983

Allied max defense: 57 - adjusted defense: 3

Japanese assault odds: 327 to 1

Japanese ground losses:
218 casualties reported
Guns lost 9
Vehicles lost 1

Allied ground losses:
600 casualties reported
Guns lost 10

Defeated Allied Units Retreating!

The Japanese clear a guerilla unit from the railways.

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Ground combat at Borzya [Siberia]

Allied Shock attack

Attacking force 162093 troops, 2683 guns, 332 vehicles, Assault Value =
5436

Defending force 11885 troops, 19 guns, 740 vehicles, Assault Value =
340

Allied max assault: 11302 - adjusted assault: 11366

Japanese max defense: 345 - adjusted defense: 95

Allied assault odds: 119 to 1

Japanese ground losses:
2210 casualties reported
Guns lost 10
Vehicles lost 138

Allied ground losses:
673 casualties reported
Guns lost 16
Vehicles lost 1

Defeated Japanese Units Retreating!

Well, well, 11,000 adjusted AV. Perhaps there are offensive opportunities here.

[Nemo121]

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 03/12/42

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TF 1060 encounters mine field at Wellington [NZ] (59,141)

Allied Ships
TK Falkefjell, Mine hits 1, on fire

hehe, looks like IJN subs are now pretty much relegated to minelaying in subsidiary theatres.

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Day Air attack on Nanning [S China] , at 40,38

Japanese aircraft
A6M2/Ki-65 Zeke x 7
Ki-51 Sonia x 92

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-51 Sonia: 1 destroyed, 3 damaged

Airbase hits 4
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 97

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Day Air attack on Noumea [New Cal] , at 66,117

Japanese aircraft
A6M2/Ki-65 Zeke x 18
Ki-21-II Sally x 95
Ki-49 -I Helen x 3

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-21-II Sally: 1 damaged


Allied ground losses:
6 casualties reported

Airbase hits 2
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 42

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Day Air attack on Pearl Harbor [Oahu] , at 114,72

Japanese aircraft
Me-109E-4 Mike x 60
Ki-46-II/C7M2 Dinah x 1

No Japanese losses

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Day Air attack on Red 22nd Group Army , at 52,30

Japanese aircraft
Ki-27 Nate x 17

No Japanese losses

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on AA Lark Force Battalion, at 61,91

Japanese aircraft
A6M2/Ki-65 Zeke x 13
B5N2/Ki-47 Kate x 8

No Japanese losses

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on JAAF 52nd Engineer Aviation Battalion, at 47,38

Allied aircraft
Lancer/P-43 x 10

No Allied losses

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Pearl Harbor [Oahu] , at 114,72

Japanese aircraft
Me-109E-4 Mike x 45

No Japanese losses

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Anchorage [Alaska] , at 113,28

Japanese aircraft
A6M2/Ki-65 Zeke x 29
Ki-32/30 Mary/Ann x 100
Ki-46-II/C7M2 Dinah x 1

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-32/30 Mary/Ann: 2 destroyed, 1 damaged


Allied ground losses:
6 casualties reported

Airbase hits 3
Airbase supply hits 2
Runway hits 58

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Ground combat at Kaifeng [Cent China]

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 80356 troops, 1111 guns, 163 vehicles, Assault Value =
2241

Defending force 560 troops, 7 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 32

Japanese max assault: 4322 - adjusted assault: 6581

Allied max defense: 31 - adjusted defense: 1

Japanese assault odds: 6581 to 1

Japanese ground losses:
97 casualties reported
Guns lost 2

Allied ground losses:
447 casualties reported
Guns lost 4

Defeated Allied Units Retreating!

Hmm, looks like we are finally seeing a significant Japanese force formed up and ready to take offensive action in Eastern China.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at 50,30

Japanese Bombardment attack

Attacking force 5198 troops, 65 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 156

Defending force 10628 troops, 174 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 488



Allied ground losses:
12 casualties reported


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at 63,33

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 72 troops, 0 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 6

Defending force 10036 troops, 113 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 379

Japanese max assault: 4 - adjusted assault: 0

Allied max defense: 349 - adjusted defense: 295

Japanese assault odds: 0 to 1


Japanese ground losses:
34 casualties reported

I now have about 1500 AV in Canton BUT it lookslike Jagdfluger is going to try to launch an amphibious assault on the hex behind me. He is going to cut off my line of retreat/supplies and then bypass these 1500 AV. I had discounted this possibility but it looks like he's going to try it. My response has been to fly in about 200 level bombers ( B-25s and B-17s ) to nearby Chinese bases with a view to sinking a lot of these merchant vessels. He may trap my troops but by God he's going to pay for it if I have anything to do with it.

[Capt. Harlock]

ORIGINAL: Nemo121

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Borzya [Siberia]

Allied Shock attack

Attacking force 162093 troops, 2683 guns, 332 vehicles, Assault Value =
5436

Defending force 11885 troops, 19 guns, 740 vehicles, Assault Value =
340

Allied max assault: 11302 - adjusted assault: 11366

Japanese max defense: 345 - adjusted defense: 95

Allied assault odds: 119 to 1

Japanese ground losses:
2210 casualties reported
Guns lost 10
Vehicles lost 138

Allied ground losses:
673 casualties reported
Guns lost 16
Vehicles lost 1

Defeated Japanese Units Retreating!

Hmm, another misconception on my part. I had thought that Borzya was going to be the Gettysburg of the Siberian front, but Jagdfluger didn't bring nearly enough food to the party.

Admittedly it's a bit early to pronounce judgment, but from what I see this scenario is somewhat unbalanced in favor of the Japanese -- IF -- they don't activate the Soviets. The allocation of ground troops and, more importantly, the availability of Soviet aircraft seem to be tipping the balance.

[Nemo121]

Well Capt Harlock,
 
Initially he did have over 7,000 AV (unmodified) present in the hex. That was made up of the equivalent of about 5 tank divisions and 16 infantry divisions + a few cavalry divisions. In short he committed as much to Borzya as I've ever committed to invading India so that's a pretty sizable committment. In order to counter it I had to abandon all of Siberia east of Kobdorivyesk ( sic )... which has gifted him another 1,000 HI ( which is a major victory for him ).

To be fair though his initial thrust to knock the Soviet Union out of the war permanently has now been well and truly stymied but he will definitely try again. It seems clear that he is adopting a Soviet Union then China then India strategy. I, personally, think that that strategy is going to result in him hitting India with too little too late BUT if it does work he will free up so many units from the Kwantung Army and China that he'll be able to hit India with 50+ divisions and nothing I can do will be able to stop him. I think he just didn't gamble on the fact that I'd be so willing to abandon operationally strong defensive lines in order to secure my strategic position and this has thrown his calculations.
 
 
As to the balance... I think that even with the Soviet air force being involved this scenario favours the Japanese significantly. Why? Simple the Soviet air force is crewed by 40 Exp replacements and that means they are mostly easy meet for the Japanese Mikes and Zeroes. This is one reason I'm mixing my Soviet planes in with lots of UK aircrew. I am hoping that my UK aircrew will fight the enemy fighters and let me Soviet crews gain experience with easy bomber kills. To an extent it is working out that way but the cost is also pretty high. My Spits and P-40Es are doing the vast majority of A2A killing.
 
Still tweaking the balance is one of the reasons we're playing this PBEM. Already I can see a few areas where I can tweak things to introduce more balance/imbalance depending on my aim.

[Capt. Harlock]

ORIGINAL: Nemo121

To be fair though his initial thrust to knock the Soviet Union out of the war permanently has now been well and truly stymied but he will definitely try again. It seems clear that he is adopting a Soviet Union then China then India strategy. I, personally, think that that strategy is going to result in him hitting India with too little too late BUT if it does work he will free up so many units from the Kwantung Army and China that he'll be able to hit India with 50+ divisions and nothing I can do will be able to stop him.

I wouldn't be surprised if he abandons the idea of taking out China -- time is the all-important factor, and so far you're doing a superb job of buying it. My guess, which I admit isn't worth the electrons it's carried on, is that he will be able to knock China on the back foot but not deliver a finishing blow in time. If he insists on taking China out completely he may never get to India.

[Nemo121]

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 03/13/42

Captain Harlock, well he'll definitely be able to knock China onto the back foot as I've witdrawn massive forces rom China. About 5,500 AV is out of China or on its way out and into Burma. Once there it will have replacements switched on and create an 11,000 AV force which I'll use to supplement my invasion of Java. Unfortunately I don't think this force can be at full strength prior to my invasion of Java but this is a case of when needs must. If I still don't see any invasion of India by mid-April then I will begin prepping for the invasion, moving troops to embarkation ports etc.

Today sees a major surprise; the invasion of Prince Rupert in Canada. The invasion gets off very lightly sine I have purposely not reinforced such peripheral bases. Instead I am focussing on India and CONUSA. Tomorrow I'll base some SBDs and B-18s out of Prince Rupert and try and extract a tithe for its inevitable loss.


Jagdfluger and I are discussing the situation around Canton. I have invested his troops there and discounted the use of shipping to mount an amphibious invasion behind my troop lines but this is precisely what he has planned. We have discussed it and I feel his invasion should go ahead but that if it does then he should know that such riverine operations with ocean-going vessels will be a feature of my counter-offensives. Jagdfluger was kind enough to offer to cancel the operation but I think that'd be unfair on him so what we are doing is stranding my forces in the hex north of Canton but south of Wuchow, letting him invade Wuchow and then after ten days my stranded forces can begin marching again. This is a reasonable compromise.

I think, however, that Jagdfluger is going to be surprised by the presence of three full Chinese armies at Wuchow. Mustering a total of about 600 AV he is going to have to make that invasion with a LOT of ships if he wants to overcome this force quickly. He can do it but it is going to cost him. Phase I of showing him this cost was delivered by approximately 100 B-17 Es and 150 B-25s. Only a fragment of each force flew but still it shows him the cost of a full-scale invasion.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Coastal Guns at Prince Rupert [BC], 127,33, firing at TF 83
TF 83 troops unloading over beach at Prince Rupert [BC], 127,33


22 Coastal gun shots fired in defense.
Japanese Ships
DD Uzuki

Japanese ground losses:
63 casualties reported

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Coastal Guns at Prince Rupert [BC], 127,33, firing at TF 83
TF 83 troops unloading over beach at Prince Rupert [BC], 127,33


104 Coastal gun shots fired in defense.
Japanese Ships
DD Uzuki

Japanese ground losses:
51 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Coastal Guns at Prince Rupert [BC], 127,33, firing at TF 126
TF 126 troops unloading over beach at Prince Rupert [BC], 127,33


32 Coastal gun shots fired in defense.
Japanese ground losses:
18 casualties reported

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Nanning [S China] , at 40,38

Japanese aircraft
A6M2/Ki-65 Zeke x 13
Ki-51 Sonia x 91

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-51 Sonia: 1 destroyed

Airbase hits 3
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 36

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Noumea [New Cal] , at 66,117

Japanese aircraft
A6M2/Ki-65 Zeke x 19
Ki-21-II Sally x 93
Ki-49 -I Helen x 3

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-21-II Sally: 1 damaged

Airbase hits 3
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 43

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Prince Rupert [BC] , at 127,33

Japanese aircraft
C3N1 Kate x 1

No Japanese losses

Carrier support of the invasion...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Red 22nd Group Army , at 52,30

Japanese aircraft
Ki-27 Nate x 17

No Japanese losses

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on AA Lark Force Battalion, at 61,91

Japanese aircraft
A6M2/Ki-65 Zeke x 13
B5N2/Ki-47 Kate x 8

No Japanese losses

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on TF, near Canton [S China] at 43,41

Japanese aircraft
A6M2-N Rufe-FF x 1

Allied aircraft
B-25C/D Mitchell x 6

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
B-25C/D Mitchell: 1 damaged

Japanese Ships
MSW W.8
MSW W.7

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on TF, near Xuwen [C China] at 39,40


Allied aircraft
Pe-2 x 36


No Allied losses

Japanese Ships
AP Awa Maru
AK Toa Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire
AP Teizui Maru, Bomb hits 2, on fire
AP Muro Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire

Only four bomb hits but each hit was from a 500lb bomb [8D] .

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on TF, near Xuwen [C China] at 39,40


Allied aircraft
B-25C/D Mitchell x 4

No Allied losses

Japanese Ships
AP Kanko Maru, Bomb hits 2, on fire

Given that I knew Jagdfluger wouldn't be expecting this I set the B-25s and B-17s to bomb at 2,000 feet and results were really quite good.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on TF, near Xuwen [C China] at 39,40


Allied aircraft
B-17E/F Fortress x 7


No Allied losses

Japanese Ships
AP Tango Maru
APD Patrol Boat No. 32

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on TF, near Canton [S China] at 43,41

Japanese aircraft
A6M2-N Rufe-FF x 1

Allied aircraft
B-17E/F Fortress x 4

No Japanese losses

No Allied losses

Japanese Ships
PC Ch 16, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Anchorage [Alaska] , at 113,28

Japanese aircraft
A6M2/Ki-65 Zeke x 31
Ki-32/30 Mary/Ann x 95
Ki-46-II/C7M2 Dinah x 1

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-32/30 Mary/Ann: 1 damaged


Allied ground losses:
15 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

Airbase hits 2
Airbase supply hits 4
Runway hits 85

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on TF, near Xuwen [C China] at 39,40

Allied aircraft
B-25C/D Mitchell x 13

Allied aircraft losses
B-25C/D Mitchell: 1 damaged

Japanese Ships
AP Kanko Maru, on fire
AK Nitiro Maru, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
AP Tango Maru
AK Toa Maru, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TF 3 troops unloading over beach at Uel Kal [NE Siberia], 98,20


Japanese ground losses:
134 casualties reported


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at 50,30

Japanese Bombardment attack

Attacking force 5198 troops, 65 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 156

Defending force 10601 troops, 173 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 487



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Khabarovsk [AMUR]

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 3411 troops, 40 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 134

Defending force 4183 troops, 18 guns, 260 vehicles, Assault Value = 150

Japanese max assault: 137 - adjusted assault: 19

Allied max defense: 146 - adjusted defense: 99

Japanese assault odds: 0 to 1


Japanese ground losses:
83 casualties reported
Guns lost 2

Allied ground losses:
32 casualties reported
Guns lost 4
Vehicles lost 1


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Pakhoi [Cent China]

Allied Shock attack

Attacking force 9929 troops, 139 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 511

Defending force 3054 troops, 19 guns, 7 vehicles, Assault Value = 28

Allied max assault: 946 - adjusted assault: 80

Japanese max defense: 29 - adjusted defense: 62

Allied assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 0)

Allied Assault reduces fortifications to 0

Japanese ground losses:
134 casualties reported
Guns lost 9
Vehicles lost 1

Allied ground losses:
241 casualties reported
Guns lost 11

Well that's a kick in the teeth. A 600 squad Field Army has difficulty overcoming a Japanese Base Force with 30 squads.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Prince Rupert [BC]

Allied Bombardment attack

Attacking force 5227 troops, 96 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 103

Defending force 3643 troops, 29 guns, 21 vehicles, Assault Value = 140

Japanese ground losses:
4 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

Day 1 of the Japanese landings. Hmm, at this rate Prince Rupert might hold. I'll fly in some Canadian troops but be ready to pull out cadres if the landings continue and are reinforced.

[Nemo121]

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 03/14/42

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Coastal Guns at Prince Rupert [BC], 127,33, firing at TF 123
TF 123 troops unloading over beach at Prince Rupert [BC], 127,33


1060 Coastal gun shots fired in defense.
Japanese Ships
DD Usugumo, Shell hits 1
AE Kashino, Shell hits 2
DD Fubuki
DE Wakatake
AK Hirano Maru, Shell hits 2, on fire
AK Batavia Maru, Shell hits 1
AK Taizin Maru, Shell hits 3
DD Uzuki

Japanese ground losses:
1099 casualties reported
Guns lost 4

Allied ground losses:
28 casualties reported
Guns lost 2

Prince Rupert is DOOMED!!! [:D]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Coastal Guns at Prince Rupert [BC], 127,33, firing at TF 123
TF 123 troops unloading over beach at Prince Rupert [BC], 127,33


474 Coastal gun shots fired in defense.
Japanese Ships
DD Fubuki, Shell hits 1
DD Uzuki
DE Wakatake, Shell hits 1

Japanese ground losses:
318 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

Allied ground losses:
6 casualties reported

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Hengchow [S China] , at 44,37

Japanese aircraft
A6M2/Ki-65 Zeke x 8
Ki-32/30 Mary/Ann x 25
Ki-48-I Lily x 23

No Japanese losses

Airbase hits 1
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 9

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Kweilin [S China] , at 42,37

Japanese aircraft
A6M2/Ki-65 Zeke x 26
Ki-32/30 Mary/Ann x 29

Allied aircraft
Sea Hurricane x 3

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
Sea Hurricane: 1 destroyed

Runway hits 7

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Kweiyang [W China] , at 41,34

Japanese aircraft
A6M2/Ki-65 Zeke x 16
Ki-48-I Lily x 21

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-48-I Lily: 1 damaged

Airbase hits 1
Runway hits 4

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Pucheng [Cent China] , at 49,40

Japanese aircraft
A6M2/Ki-65 Zeke x 8
Ki-51 Sonia x 72

No Japanese losses

Airbase hits 12
Airbase supply hits 10
Runway hits 51

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Prince Rupert [BC] , at 127,33

Japanese aircraft
C3N1 Kate x 1

No Japanese losses

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on JAAF 1st Air Sect HQ Engineer Aviation Battalion, at
39,39

Japanese aircraft
A6M2-N Rufe-FF x 17

Allied aircraft
Sea Hurricane x 3
Lancer/P-43 x 18

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
Lancer/P-43: 1 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
14 casualties reported

I've decided to put a bit more pressure on Jagdfluger by beginning pilot training in China. My ROC units are going to begin training by attacking isolated Japanese units. It won't achieve anything much but it will divert his forces and give him something else to worry about.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Red 22nd Group Army , at 52,30

Japanese aircraft
Ki-27 Nate x 17

No Japanese losses

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on AA Lark Force Battalion, at 61,91

Japanese aircraft
A6M2/Ki-65 Zeke x 13
B5N2/Ki-47 Kate x 9

No Japanese losses

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on TF, near Prince Rupert [BC] at 127,33

Japanese aircraft
A6M2/Ki-65 Zeke x 11
A6M2-N Rufe-FF x 7

Allied aircraft
B-18A/B-23 Bolo x 6

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
B-18A/B-23 Bolo: 1 destroyed

Japanese Ships
DMS Shumushu, Bomb hits 1, on fire

Obsolescent Allied bombers operating out of Prince Rupert achieve moderate success.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on TF, near Prince Rupert [BC] at 127,33

Japanese aircraft
A6M2/Ki-65 Zeke x 11
A6M2-N Rufe-FF x 7

Allied aircraft
B-18A/B-23 Bolo x 28
SBD-3 Dauntless x 15

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2-N Rufe-FF: 1 destroyed, 1 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
B-18A/B-23 Bolo: 5 destroyed, 2 damaged
SBD-3 Dauntless: 3 destroyed, 1 damaged

Japanese Ships
AK Okuni Maru
AK Tatsukami Maru
AK Matue Maru
AP Shintoku Maru
AP Izumo Maru
AK Hokusyo Maru
AK Milan Maru, Bomb hits 1
AK Tainan Maru, Bomb hits 2, on fire
AK Eihuku Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire
DD Fubuki
AK Seizan Maru
AP Iwaki Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on TF, near Prince Rupert [BC] at 127,33

Japanese aircraft
A6M2/Ki-65 Zeke x 11
A6M2-N Rufe-FF x 6

Allied aircraft
B-18A/B-23 Bolo x 4

No Japanese losses

No Allied losses

Japanese Ships
AK Misaki Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire

Japanese ground losses:
8 casualties reported
Vehicles lost 1

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at 50,30

Japanese Bombardment attack

Attacking force 5225 troops, 67 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 510

Defending force 10600 troops, 170 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 489



Allied ground losses:
10 casualties reported


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Uel Kal [NE Siberia]

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 2476 troops, 17 guns, 12 vehicles, Assault Value = 96

Defending force 1076 troops, 10 guns, 2 vehicles, Assault Value = 1

Japanese max assault: 170 - adjusted assault: 105

Allied max defense: 0 - adjusted defense: 11

Japanese assault odds: 9 to 1 (fort level 0)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Uel Kal [NE Siberia] base !!!

Japanese ground losses:
7 casualties reported

Allied ground losses:
1307 casualties reported
Guns lost 2


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Prince Rupert [BC]

Allied Bombardment attack

Attacking force 5168 troops, 94 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 126

Defending force 28701 troops, 416 guns, 96 vehicles, Assault Value =
1049 [X(] [X(] [X(] He really, really wants Prince Rupert.


Allied ground losses:
4 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

[Nemo121]

And this is what a Japanese invasion of the West Coast looks like [:D].

Jagdfluger is being careful to avoid the line which triggers increased US reinforcements and, really, he can't knock the US out of the war without a proper invasion. My opinion is that he will use Prince Rupert as a base for long-range harrassing raids on my US cities AND to interdict my shipping operating out of LA etc. The Me-264s with Long Lance torpedoes and the Me-264 variants with guided missiles will prove lethal to my shipping exiting from LA and my docked ships.

I have tested the Me-264s with guided missiles against ships in port and found the following:
1. They will penetrate the deck armour of ANYTHING less than a BB and the deck armour of most BBs.

2. Even if they don't penetrate the armour they tend to destroy multiple gun mounts.

3. Their accuracy sucks.

4. Against ships in port their accuracy isn't much of an issue since 100 planes can launch 800 of the Hs-293s and that many missiles simply devastates the shipping at a base.


In short when a single hit will leave a CV with 20 to 30 sys damage and heavy fires you simply can't afford to keep planes in the area without overwhelming CAP ( including night CAP ) nd when you have torpedo-bombers with a range of 30 or so hexes you have to cover EVERY convoy leaving LA with massive carrier-based CAP --- and when Jagdfluger sees this he will pounce with KB. Quite a nice little trap he is developing here.

[Nemo121]

I just did a quick count of my on-map aerial forces. I have 4,300 on-map planes.
 
800 of these planes are committed to CONUSA, about 300 are committed to Oz, 100 are committed to provide CAP over Borya. This leaves 3,100 planes for everywhere else.
 
Guess where they are? Yes, that's right, they are all committed to India and Burma. Talk about a concentration of effort. In other news Australian and New Zealand forces committed to the defence of India now number 3 divisions and 3 Brigades, that's over 1,000 additional AV right there.
 
Message to self: Must restrain myself from launching invasion of Java in mid-April. Must wait until Chinese Field Armies have rebuilt. I doubt I'll have the patience for this though [:D]. I think that, as usual, I'll just launch an invasion with whatever is available relying on elan, manoeuvrism and balls-to-the-wall aggression to overcome any logistical difficulties. At least I have insight [:D]

[Capt. Harlock]

And this is what a Japanese invasion of the West Coast looks like .

Jagdfluger is being careful to avoid the line which triggers increased US reinforcements and, really, he can't knock the US out of the war without a proper invasion. My opinion is that he will use Prince Rupert as a base for long-range harrassing raids on my US cities AND to interdict my shipping operating out of LA etc. The Me-264s with Long Lance torpedoes and the Me-264 variants with guided missiles will prove lethal to my shipping exiting from LA and my docked ships.

This is going from very interesting to engrossing. Perhaps you remember an AAR experiment a while back where both sides agreed to minimal combat in Asia and elsewhere to allow an all-or-nothing Japanese effort to capture San Francisco. To build a supply and airbase needing less transit time from the Home Islands, the Japanese player chose as his jump-off point: Prince Rupert!

I doubt that such a thing is what Jagdfluger has in mind. Your guess is likely a good one, but he has another high-value target available: the factories in the Seattle/Vancouver area, including the B-17 plants. All in all, a pretty clever move, rendering the assets shipped to India much less useful.

[Nemo121]

Harlock,


Very interesting, I wasn't aware of that at all. Thanks for the pointer. Prince Rupert is a good strategic bombing base as it can result in a very large port and airfield and can be used for strategic bombing ( but I have enough supply and fighters that I should be able to make serious strategic bombing cost-prohibitive ). Here's my conception after having thought about it a bit more...



1. ANY US or Canadian bases more than 11 hexes from Prince Rupert can be considered safe as I can use my P-39s to provide them with anti-bomber protection. 50 P-39s per base should give sufficient protection to attrit the enemy bomber streams and throw off their aim.



2. Any US or Canadian bases within 11 hexes ( A6M2 range ) are in more danger but I can use P-40 Bs and Es as well as P-43s ( which are actually quite capable fighters ) to protect those bases. Certainly the protection won't be complete BUT I won't lose the war as a result of such pinprick raiding as I generate sufficient supplies to repair essential aircraft factories should they be damaged and can run my war effort with the supplies generated in Aden and India +/- Java if necessary.



3. I think the biggest mistake I can make would be to send major ground forces ( there's 1,000 AV there with mountainous terrain x 3 and potentially level 9 forts ( x 3 ) = 9,000 AV ) to Prince Rupert. I think that if I do so then jagdfluger will think CONUSA has been denuded and it really might face invasion.



In short I don't think his bombing campaign from Prince Rupert can achieve anything decisive but:



1. if I send major ground forces to retake it I have to denude the rest of CONUSA.



2. If I don't bottle his forces up he can now just land troops in safety and mount an overland campaign against CONUSA. It'd be really interesting if he does this --- I actually hope he does this as once it happens ( even if it is before May ) I will mount my counter-invasion of Java. Why? Simple, I can meet his strength with my strength ( which is doomed to failure at this time in this mod as the Allies simply aren't strong enough to meet strength with strength right now on any really major sale ) OR I can simply allow him to concentrate his forces, prevent them achieving strategically decisive success and then threaten his major strategic interests elsewhere where he is weak, thus robbing his schwerpunkt of its follow-on forces and preventing him from turning that local success into a strategically decisive success.


The Allied player who goes head to head in 1942 in this mod is going to be absolutely massacred in a way that players of the stock game simply can't comprehend. Until September 1942 the Japanese player has a far, far larger advantage than he has under stock.



And now back to scheduled programming:


AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 03/15/42

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub attack near Victoria Point [BMA] at 25,39

Japanese Ships
AO Tsurumi, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
DD Shiokaze
DD Harukaze

Allied Ships
SS KXII

Weird, weird, weird. There is a horde of tankers and oilers at Victoria Point. The only reason for them to be there is that they are bringing fuel to Victoria Point in order to turn it into a final fleet staging and refuelling point for the invasion of India. I don't think he needs such a location but I just can see NO other reason to have AOs and TKs shuttling to and fro from Victoria Point. Still, I won't complain, I'm getting easy kills here.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Naval bombardment of Prince Rupert [BC], at 127,33


Allied aircraft
no flights


Allied aircraft losses
B-18A/B-23 Bolo: 1 destroyed

Japanese Ships
CL Kuma
CL Isuzu
CL Sendai
CA Ashigara
BB Mutsu
BB Nagato

Allied ground losses:
79 casualties reported
Guns lost 7

Airbase hits 1
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 13
Port hits 6
Port fuel hits 1
Port supply hits 7

3 CL, 1 CA and 2 BB. That's a pretty significant part of his remaining heavy combatants right here - he has 7 BBs left as I've sunk 3 of them and many of his CAs are pretty badly dinged up thanks to mines around Lahaina.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Hengchow [S China] , at 44,37

Japanese aircraft
A6M2/Ki-65 Zeke x 9
Ki-32/30 Mary/Ann x 25
Ki-48-I Lily x 24

No Japanese losses

Airbase hits 1
Runway hits 16

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Chungking [W China] , at 43,32

Japanese aircraft
Me 264 Angel x 23

Japanese aircraft losses
Me 264 Angel: 4 damaged

Airbase hits 2
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 23

Time to extend my fighter cover I think. I now have 200 first-class fighters at Rangoon and there have been no significant Japanese attempts to attack it in the past week. In addition I have 150 fighters at the Level 3 airfield in northern Burma. I am now going to stage an additional 200 fighters into Chungking and may run a further 200 in to provide CAP and training missions in China. I have about 150 Chinese fighters which have pilots with experience in the 30s and really obsolete planes ( I-153cs and I-16 Type 4s). These guys obviously aren't useful for much with such low experience and crap planes BUT if I can get them to 60 or 70 Exp and put them in cannon-armed fighters they will help provide protection over my rear echelon bases out of range of A6M2 escort and free 2nd-line fighters for the front. So, with a CAP of 100 fighters to protect their air bases and some concentrated ground attack taskings I could begin getting these guys into shape for this mission. In the long-term that'll help free second-line fighters for the front line and give me the numbers I need to fight my way through enemy escorts and into the bomber stream.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Prince Rupert [BC] , at 127,33

Japanese aircraft
C3N1 Kate x 1

No Japanese losses

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on RTA 4th Division, at 48,36

Allied aircraft
Lancer/P-43 x 19

Allied aircraft losses
Lancer/P-43: 1 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
4 casualties reported

An example of some of the first goal-oriented training of ROCAF fighter squadrons in China.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on ROC 80th Field Army , at 52,30

Japanese aircraft
Ki-27 Nate x 17

No Japanese losses

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on AA Lark Force Battalion, at 61,91

Japanese aircraft
A6M2/Ki-65 Zeke x 13
B5N2/Ki-47 Kate x 9

No Japanese losses

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on TF, near Luganville [New Heb] at 71,111

Japanese aircraft
A6M2/Ki-65 Zeke x 11

No Japanese losses

Allied Ships
PT -60, Shell hits 4, on fire

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on TF, near Anchorage [Alaska] at 113,28

Japanese aircraft
A6M2/Ki-65 Zeke x 19
G4M1/Ki-50 Betty x 16
Ki-32/30 Mary/Ann x 41

No Japanese losses

Allied Ships
AK Malama
AK Elna, Bomb hits 2, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
AK Spica, Bomb hits 2, on fire
AK Strathcone Park, Bomb hits 9, Torpedo hits 3, on fire, heavy
damage
SC New Westminster, Bomb hits 1, on fire
SC Dawson, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage


Allied ground losses:
127 casualties reported
Guns lost 11

This TF is delivering a regiment of troops to Anchorage. Unfortunately it was spotted and now must pay the price. Still, such is life.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Prince Rupert [BC] , at 127,33

Japanese aircraft
C3N1 Kate x 1

No Japanese losses

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub attack near Victoria Point [BMA] at 25,39

Japanese Ships
TK Yamazuru Maru, Shell hits 1, Torpedo hits 3, on fire, heavy damage

Allied Ships
SS KXII

Not a bad day for K-XII

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub attack near Victoria Point [BMA] at 25,39

Japanese Ships
DD Harukaze
DD Shiokaze

Allied Ships
SS KXII


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at 50,30

Japanese Bombardment attack

Attacking force 18177 troops, 270 guns, 12 vehicles, Assault Value =
688

Defending force 10654 troops, 165 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 493



Allied ground losses:
6 casualties reported
Guns lost 1


And in other news a total of 11 convoys ( transport, air combat and surface combat ) have now refuelled around Perth and are making the final run to Sri Lanka/India. Since I ran most of the combat vessels at full speed they will need some significant yard time to return to full functionality but even partial functionality ought to be enough to cover any landings in Java in May.

E.g. Yorktown has 22 system damage which definitely isn't good BUT is it more than enough to cover AKs and APs making a run in to western Java? Yes. Is it more than enough when one considers I'll have an additional 2-3 US CVs plus 3 UK CVs and a couple of CVLs present in addition to Yorktown ( albeit that some of these ships will also have system damage in the teens) ? Yes, yes I think it is.

In any case by May I believe I'll need a significant distraction to enemy efforts no matter what the system damage of my shipping is.

[Nemo121]

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 03/16/42

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub attack near Prince Rupert [BC] at 127,33

Japanese Ships
AK Hachijin Maru

Allied Ships
SS SHCH130

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Hengchow [S China] , at 44,37

Japanese aircraft
A6M2/Ki-65 Zeke x 3
Ki-32/30 Mary/Ann x 21
Ki-48-I Lily x 25

No Japanese losses

Airbase hits 1
Airbase supply hits 4
Runway hits 7

Looks like jagdfluger is picking up the pace of his Chinese "airfield denial" missions. Well, now that I've got a good base in Burma I think I'll continue flowing outward and stage a few hundred fighters into China to attrit his Zero pools there.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Changsha [S China] , at 45,37

Japanese aircraft
A6M2/Ki-65 Zeke x 17
Ki-51 Sonia x 88
Ki-15II/C5M2 Babs x 2

Allied aircraft
no flights

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-51 Sonia: 2 destroyed, 2 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
Lancer/P-43: 1 destroyed

Airbase hits 11
Airbase supply hits 10
Runway hits 81

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Changsha [S China] , at 45,37

Japanese aircraft
A6M2/Ki-65 Zeke x 28
Ki-32/30 Mary/Ann x 38
Ki-48-I Lily x 33

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-48-I Lily: 1 destroyed

Allied ground losses:
4 casualties reported

Airbase hits 12
Airbase supply hits 3
Runway hits 43

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Chungking [W China] , at 43,32

Japanese aircraft
Me 264 Angel x 21

No Japanese losses

Airbase hits 2
Runway hits 19

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Prince Rupert [BC] , at 127,33

Japanese aircraft
C3N1 Kate x 1

No Japanese losses

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on ROC 80th Field Army , at 52,30

Japanese aircraft
Ki-27 Nate x 17

No Japanese losses


Allied ground losses:
8 casualties reported

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on AA Lark Force Battalion, at 61,91

Japanese aircraft
A6M2/Ki-65 Zeke x 15
B5N2/Ki-47 Kate x 9

No Japanese losses

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Koumac [New Cal] , at 65,114

Japanese aircraft
A6M2/Ki-65 Zeke x 10
D3A2 Val/Ki-52 x 23
B5N2/Ki-47 Kate x 83

No Japanese losses

Port supply hits 2

VERY interesting. It seems that 3 Japanese CVLs, a CVE and Yamato are forming a sort of mini-KB and today they struck Koumac in an effort to lessen the CD defences there. There were no ships in port so the only reason for a port attack would be to lessen coastal defences. Well, jagdfluger is going to find that the units he attacks in Koumac and Noumea are only shells of their former selves ( as I'm using PBYs to fly troops away towards Australia.

I've just bought myself an additional 3 months of time in this theatre at a total cost of about 20 planes and a portions of several Brigades and a Division which will quickly rebuild in Australia. Not a bad trade at all.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Prince Rupert [BC] , at 127,33

Japanese aircraft
C3N1 Kate x 1

No Japanese losses

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on TF at 70,112

Japanese aircraft
A6M2/Ki-65 Zeke x 8

No Japanese losses

Allied Ships
PT -61, Shell hits 4, on fire
PT -60, Shell hits 8, on fire, heavy damage

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Prince Rupert [BC]

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 27801 troops, 406 guns, 75 vehicles, Assault Value =
1065

Defending force 5245 troops, 89 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 113

Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 1

Japanese max assault: 1964 - adjusted assault: 2034

Allied max defense: 91 - adjusted defense: 127

Japanese assault odds: 16 to 1 (fort level 1)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Prince Rupert [BC] base !!!

Allied aircraft
no flights


Allied aircraft losses
B-18A/B-23 Bolo: 2 destroyed

Japanese ground losses:
360 casualties reported
Guns lost 17
Vehicles lost 2

Allied ground losses:
1536 casualties reported
Guns lost 14

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at 50,30

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 24098 troops, 345 guns, 12 vehicles, Assault Value =
689

Defending force 10701 troops, 168 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 497

Japanese max assault: 632 - adjusted assault: 704

Allied max defense: 486 - adjusted defense: 299

Japanese assault odds: 2 to 1

Japanese ground losses:
598 casualties reported
Guns lost 24

Allied ground losses:
201 casualties reported
Guns lost 7

Defeated Allied Units Retreating!

This actually helps me as these 3 Chinese units were refusing to budge. So, now, they are budged for me and should be able to move into a more useful area.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at 63,20

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 778 troops, 4 guns, 6 vehicles, Assault Value = 4

Defending force 164519 troops, 2714 guns, 231 vehicles, Assault Value =
5315

Japanese max assault: 3 - adjusted assault: 0

Allied max defense: 5623 - adjusted defense: 5813

Japanese assault odds: 0 to 1

Japanese ground losses:
62 casualties reported
Guns lost 2

Now that Borzya has been stabilised my forces are lowing down the rail-line towards the nearest Japanese base. Unfortunatly the IJA base is in wooded terrain so I won't be able to capture it but I am hoping to catch a few units on the rail-line and cause them some casualties. Every little helps.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Khabarovsk [AMUR]

Japanese Bombardment attack

Attacking force 5208 troops, 75 guns, 19 vehicles, Assault Value = 363

Defending force 4012 troops, 14 guns, 257 vehicles, Assault Value = 142



Allied ground losses:
4 casualties reported


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at 63,20

Allied Shock attack

Attacking force 151935 troops, 2555 guns, 200 vehicles, Assault Value =
5315

Defending force 656 troops, 0 guns, 6 vehicles, Assault Value = 1

Allied max assault: 10684 - adjusted assault: 13516

Japanese max defense: 0 - adjusted defense: 1

Allied assault odds: 13516 to 1

Japanese ground losses:
297 casualties reported
Vehicles lost 5

Allied ground losses:
14 casualties reported

Defeated Japanese Units Retreating!

Hmm, an adjusted AV of 13,500. It really is tempting to try to make something of that.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Pakhoi [Cent China]

Allied Shock attack

Attacking force 9391 troops, 124 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 474

Defending force 2752 troops, 7 guns, 6 vehicles, Assault Value = 26

Allied max assault: 914 - adjusted assault: 521

Japanese max defense: 26 - adjusted defense: 37

Allied assault odds: 14 to 1 (fort level 0)

Allied forces CAPTURE Pakhoi [Cent China] base !!!

Japanese ground losses:
86 casualties reported
Guns lost 2

Defeated Japanese Units Retreating!

March is over half-way done and there's no sign of an enemy invasion fleet near India. In fact I've stabilised Burma and with the next round of unforced withdrawals in China ( all of my movements over the past 3 months were just spoiling attacks to buy more time ) I will end up with a very strong Chinese defensive line complete with reasonable CAP and Level 4 airfields from which to harrass enemy shipping along the Chinese coast.

[Nemo121]

What to bomb in strategic bombing campaigns and how to avoid bombing lots of stuff but actually helping keep Japan in the war for far longer.
 
Let's assume that Japan has 15,000 HI, 2,500 OIL and produces 15,000 RESOURCES per turn on January 1st 1943, the day the Allied strategic bombing campaign begins. Without ANY intervention and assuming that all resources and oil produced can be shipped back to Japan in a timely manner ( in otherwords we are removing the confounding factors presented by the allied submarine etc campaign ) the Japanese war economy will be able to run at full strength right through to the end of 1946 ( as it is perfectly balanced ). Our other primary assumption is that no matter how low the OIL and RESOURCE reserves in the Home Islands are the HI reserves are usually lower. I have never had my HI reserve exceed either my oil or resource reserve when playing as Japan. For simplicity's sake though we will assume there 150,000 HI reserve but NO reserves of OIL or RESOURCES and no OIL or RESOURCE production in the Home Islands ( I know these assumptions are somewhat at variance but it has to be this way to make the point very easy to understand later on ).
 
Japan needs those 15,000 resources and 2,500 OIL to keep the 15,000 HI running at full capacity. Now, let us examine what we could hit and how much damage it would do in the long run. To keep things really simple I'm going to assume that over the course of 180 days we can hit 1,000 strategic targets ( 5 per day ) which is a reasonable amount or our purposes.  Now, my conclusion is that hitting ONE target ( usually oil ) is better than hitting multiple targets and that no matter what it is always better to hit either OIL or RESOURCES than to hit HI --- except when you are hitting mainland Japan in which situation a case can be made for hitting HI ( although I think it is usually a weak case really ).
 
So, onto the examples:
 
1. We use the 1000 points of damage to hit enemy resources.
So, the enemy experiences a deficit in resources of 1,000 HI per turn. If the enemy has 180,000 HI reserve by this point in the game he can continue full production from July 1st 1943 ( the point in time at which our notional 1000 points of damage is inflicted ) until 31st December 1943 ( I know that isn't accurate but I'm using easy figures to make a general point everyone can follow since the dichotomy between destruction and actually aiding the Japanese position has obviously not been grasped ) at which time the enemy war economy will have to reduce its daily expenditure by 1,000 points per day and will, once again, be in balance.
 
End result the enemy can continue full production into January 1944 and then has to reduce prouction by 1,000 HI per day, a roughly 6.6% reduction in total war economy. So that's effective.
 
 
2. A lot of people like hitting HI. Let us look at what the results of that are...
If you hit 1,000 HI then from July 1943 you have reduced the Japanese war economy to just 14,000 HI per day. In effect by hitting HI you reduce the war economy by the SAME AMOUNT but you get that reduction kicking in 6 months earlier. The trade-off is that you also reduce the OIL requirement by some 166 tons of oil per day ( 5,000 per month ) and the RESOURCE requirement by 1,000 resources per day and thereby, assuming full and timely transport of all OIL and RESOURCES to the Home Islands ( which is one of our assumptions ) by January 1944 Japan will:
a) be down a total of 180,000 HI when compared with inflicting the same amount of damage on resources BUT (180,000 HI = 5,000 fighters or 3,333 twin-engined bombers so it isn't an inconsiderable loss of production over 6 months )
 
b) its OIL and RESOURCES stockpiles will have increased by 30,000 OIL and 180,000 RESOURCES. This reserve is sufficient to run the newly reduced 14,000 HI factories for an additional 13 days. SO by bombing the HI and reducing it by 6.6% you are actually allowing Japan's war production to continue for an additional 2 days for every month of perfect importation that occurs.
 
What does this mean?
Well if you hit resources and assume that the economy functions perfectly in 1944 and 1945 ( at the reduced rate of 14,000 HI with 1,000 HI of factories turned off ) but that ALL shipping in of OIL and RESOURCES stops on 1st January 1946 let us look at the implications for the two choices above?
 
1. Hitting resources and reducing them to 14,000.
By reducing HI usage to 14,000 on 1st January 1944 we equalise our resource usage to production. We create an OIL reserve of 5,000 OIL per month BUT no RESOURCE reserve. On 1st January 1946 since there is no RESOURCE reserve all production shuts down immediately. So, by hitting resources you reduce production a little after a short lag in which HI reserves are used up BUT you also make it more difficult to build up a reserve and end up tangentially increasing the effectiveness of a resource-importation denial offensive.( aka sub war ).
 
2. Hitting HI and reducing them to 14,00.
Hitting HI reduces production by 6.6% from 1st July 1943 so it removes the lag time which occurs when we hit resources BUT it also allows the building up of both OIL and RESOURCE reserves to the tune of 6.6% ( 2 days of HI usage per month ) per period time.
 
So, July 1943 to end of December 1945 is 30 months which means that if we stop ALL importation of RESOURCES and OIL on 1st January 1946 Japan will have sufficient reserves to keep full production ( 14,000 HI per day ) for at least 60 more days. In essence by hitting the HI ALL we have done is reduced the production per unit time by 6.6% BUT overall production capability for a given stock of OIL and RESOURCES remains the same.
 
To put it in simpler terms, by hitting HI instead of Japan producing 1,000 planes in 80 days we simply make it so that Japan produces 1,000 planes in 90 days. If you are looking for an attritional win that can look attractive but, really, Japan's critical weakness in terms of attrition does NOT lie in the number of airframes produced or the number of DDs produced. It lies in the quality of the pilots, the obsolescence of the airframes and the deteriorating strategic situation.
 
At this point I would like to remind everyone of all those AARs in which Allied players in 1945 and 46 are bemoaning the fact that they are hitting enemy targets but don't seem to see the enemy economy in tatters. Well, welcome to one of the reasons why. When I've read those AARs I've been struck by the fact that they are hitting targets which limit the rate of production but don't limit the total quantity produced in any meaningful timeframe. That is why they are failing in their goals.
 
 
3. Let us look at what would happen if they spread their damage around between HI and resources.
So hit each for 500 points. Well in that case you'd have a situation in which you could simply continue producing at a rate of 15,000 HI for 360 days ( because the shortfall would be only 500 HI per day ) and then could produce at a rate of 14,500 HI per day for the rest of the war ( until resource importation was stopped in 1st January 1946 and the economy stopped production the next day because there was no RESOURCE reserve ). So, in short, spreading the same damage between 2 modalities doubles the length of the "lag" period before which production has to be decreased. Spreading it between three would triple that time etc.
 
So, division of effort is a massive waste.
 
 
NOW let us look at what happens when you hit OIL.
1,000 points of damage to oil is the equivalent of 6,000 points of damage done elsewhere as OIL PRODUCTION is converted to OIL POINTS at a ratio of 1:6 according to the rules. So, by reducing OIL PRODUCTION from 2,500 to 1,500 we are reducing daily oil points from 15,000 to 9,000.
 
So, right there the 180,000 HI reserve will only last for 30 days and thus from 1st August 1943 we are going to be looking at a war economy which can only produce 9,000 HI per day. That's a shortfall of at least 5,000 HI per day MORE than the best alternative and so over the course of those 5 months from August to 1st January 1944 the shortall to the Japanese war machine would be 25,000 fighters or 16,666 twin-engined bombers. ( I like to measure HI decline in terms of fighters per period of time as I think that keeps things much more concrete than stating there's a notional 900,000 HI deficit. )
 
The only problem with hitting oil is that by reducing oil production by 40% I am increasing the redundancy in his tanker fleet by 40%, meaning I have to sink 40% more tankers to get the same strain on his OIL importation system but, really, when you are reducing a war economy by 40% with such immediate effect having to sink a few more tankers to put strain on his convoy system isn't a really bad trade-off.
 
 

Caveats:
Obviously you can't turn importation off by 100% on a single day but this is a VERY simple mathematical model to illustrate a basic point. If you do the math properly and run it for 50% of the min/max version I have given here the conclusions are the same. However for an example I prefer the math to be really, really basic so the points are obvious.
 
Obviously the Home Islands are not devoid of all indigenous RESOURCES and OIL but, again, that just changes the amount of time these changes take by a little and doesn't change the underlying thrust.
 
Obviously these results are valid and unchanging when a war economy is running at full stretch. In some mods there is a large surfeit of oil or resources and in those scenarios you only see the effects I've described when you reduce oil or resources to the level required to JUST meet the needs of the HI. So if you would need to bomb 5000 OIL but only 300 resources to get down to a level where supply of that modality just meets demand then, obviously, in that specific mod resources would be the better way to go. But in most mods oil IS the chokepoint.
 
 
Conclusion:
So, go for one modality and go for one which has the greatest multiplier effect. And be aware that if you go for HI you are reducing production per unit time BUT the total amount Japan can produce remains constant. As a matter of fact if you want to use HI to cause the cessation of all Japanese production you shouldn't be bombing it, you should be allowing the Japanese player to expand HI ASAP.
 
Some will argue that bombing HI reduces Japanese supply production as every HI point produces supply per day. Sure but if the HI doesn't have the resources to actually produce anything it won't produce any supply PLUS resources produce supply when the resource is produced. Basically hitting a resource point reduces supply per day 2.25 times MORE than hitting the same number of HI points.
 
 
 
So, why have I gone into this here? Well because the discussion was occuring on the main board and I thought it'd be worthwhile explaining WHY I'm going after OIL in the DEI so much so early.

[rtrapasso]

Interesting analysis!! [&o] [&o] [&o]

EDIT: Of course, this does not account for resource production also spins off supplies in the front-line areas (which supply armies, etc. directly) - however, the multiplier effect of oil is probably sufficient to counteract this.

Also, i think, the individual situation has to be taken into consideration: in the original question posed on the main WITP forum, the person who posed the question also stipulated that they had few OIL targets to hit, in which case bombing OIL isn't going to make much difference to Japan's economy.

Since it is still early in my campaign (Jan 1942) - any further suggestions/insights about hurting Japan's economy in the early phases of the war?

Thanks again! i'm going to start having to read this AAR regularly!! [8D]

[ny59giants]

I'm going to have to follow this AAR now.
1EyedJack and I are going to start your newest version of this mod.
Any insight I can gleam from your campaign will be beneficial.  

[Nemo121]

rtrapasso,

Agreed, this doesn't account for supplies produced in bases near the front as my focus was on the overall war economy. On the other hand I would argue that the most efficient way to conduct a war is NOT to bomb front-line resources as that creates a sort of supply desert and increases the difficulty in supplying your forces when they advance. Others may think that's worth it but I just don't see the point in destroying resources which will be helping supply my forces in 6 months time.

As to the original poster's stipulation that little oil was in range. Yes, I saw that however little isn't the same as none. If I were in his position I'd destroy every oil point he can get his hands on and then commit my bomber formations to tactical support missions until the next oil centre came into range. Tactical aerial support achieves things, bombing resources etc really doesn't in this situation, IMO, and may even make my advance more difficult in the medium to long term. Obviously, some people are happy with a bit of wasted effort but I really amn't.

E.g. Just look at how few attack missions my forces are flying in this game. When something major is required I'll fly the missions and take hundreds of losses per day but until that time I am going to train and prepare to make sure I can build up the reserves necessary for prolonged operations when the time comes.

The only other things worth noting about hurting the Japanese economy early on are that you just need to concentrate your engineers in a small number of high importance bases ( again, it takes longer to repair 600 OIL damage at 1 base than 150 OIL damage at 4 different bases ) and just buy time with lives. I am a proponent of a forward defence in Java etc. In my last two or three games my forward defence in DEI has cost Japan multiple BBs by the end of January 1942 in each game - something which can only help Allied forces.


ny59giants,
Cool. Feel free to ask any questions as they arise. One reason behind this AAR is to explore how the questions posed in this mod differ from those asked in other mods.


AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 03/17/42

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub attack near Prince Rupert [BC] at 127,33

Japanese Ships
AK Taki Maru
AK Naniwa Maru
AK Kyokko Maru
AP Meisho Maru
APD Patrol Boat No. 37
DD Usugumo
DD Fubuki

Allied Ships
SS SHCH130, hits 1

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Changsha [S China] , at 45,37

Japanese aircraft
A6M2/Ki-65 Zeke x 28
A5M4 Claude x 28
Ki-32/30 Mary/Ann x 39
Ki-48-I Lily x 32

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-32/30 Mary/Ann: 1 damaged

Airbase hits 14
Airbase supply hits 2
Runway hits 38

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on AA Lark Force Battalion, at 61,91

Japanese aircraft
A6M2/Ki-65 Zeke x 13
B5N2/Ki-47 Kate x 8

No Japanese losses

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on TF at 69,114

Japanese aircraft
A6M2/Ki-65 Zeke x 11

No Japanese losses

Allied Ships
PT -60, Shell hits 8, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
PT -46, Shell hits 4


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Hailar [Manchukuo] , at 63,22

Japanese aircraft
Me-109E-4 Mike x 8

Allied aircraft
I-16 Type 24 x 19
LaGG-3 x 4

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
I-16 Type 24: 1 destroyed

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Anchorage [Alaska] , at 113,28

Japanese aircraft
A6M2/Ki-65 Zeke x 5
Ki-32/30 Mary/Ann x 96
Ki-46-II/C7M2 Dinah x 1

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-32/30 Mary/Ann: 1 damaged


Allied ground losses:
22 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

Airbase hits 3
Airbase supply hits 6
Runway hits 102

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Khabarovsk [AMUR]

Japanese Bombardment attack

Attacking force 5941 troops, 88 guns, 24 vehicles, Assault Value = 456

Defending force 4014 troops, 12 guns, 256 vehicles, Assault Value = 143

A very quiet day. Today sees a lot of fighters moving toward China as well as quite a few bombers. When the invasion of Wuchow occurs I want to be ready to take advantage and put a few more freighters out of action for a while. [/]