The rant goes on... PBEM QUIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[castor troy]

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 09/02/42

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub attack at 64,68

Japanese Ships
TK Sacramento Maru

Allied Ships
SS Haddock

we succesfully shadowed the TK TF heading North from Truk and we attack again... this time the torps hit the big TK but fail to detonate... [8|]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Kai Island , at 39,78

Japanese aircraft
Ki-21 Sally x 24
Ki-48 Lily x 24
Ki-49 Helen x 8

No Japanese losses

Airbase hits 1
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 44

Aircraft Attacking:
8 x Ki-49 Helen bombing at 6000 feet


what was interesting the last couple of days is Hortlund used again his Betties to recon nearly all my bases around Madras and on Ceylon. [&:] Today there were no more recon flights. I guess he´s preparing some of his 20 men paradrops... [8|] I already told him what I think about suicide paradrops on bases that are in fact cities. I have around 800 assault points in the area around Madras but I can´t have a inf division in every base to fend off attacks by 20 paratroopers. So I don´t know what he is up to. Last time he reconed all my bases North of Calcutta. Perhaps he´s trying to make me nervous but I´m not really concerned at the moment. But honestly seeing paradrops from 12 Tinas/base in India is something I would not be amused about as this is just strange.

[castor troy]

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 09/03/42

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Dacca , at 31,24

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 26
A6M3 Zero x 34
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 68

No Japanese losses


Hortlund tried a sweep of Dacca. What a pity I haven´t had Warhawks on Cap. Last time we took down 14 enemy fighters for the loss of only 3 Warhawks. Would like to see his bombers over my airfields. My flak would welcome them and we could work on bringing down the Japanese pilot pool...

today, a Betty flew recon over Panaji again...

[castor troy]

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 09/04/42

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Mandalay , at 33,30

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 7
A6M3 Zero x 10
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 17

Allied aircraft
P-40E Warhawk x 115
SB-2c x 2

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 3 destroyed, 1 damaged
A6M3 Zero: 4 damaged
Ki-43-Ic Oscar: 5 destroyed, 7 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
P-40E Warhawk: 15 destroyed, 44 damaged

[8|] this sweep has convinced me that I will need Marines in India. I won´t use P-38s there for a long time as I need them in Australia and all I have left are those P-40 which can do quite okay on the defense but even with a sweep they are absolutely helpless against the Zeroes. For 3 Zeros I have to trade 15+ Warhawks and that is something I can´t afford with a replacement rate of 50/month...[:(] Those were my BEST Warhawk FS by the way...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Dacca , at 31,24

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 25
Ki-21 Sally x 42
Ki-49 Helen x 53

Allied aircraft
no flights

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-21 Sally: 3 destroyed, 14 damaged
Ki-49 Helen: 3 destroyed, 23 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
Wellington III: 3 destroyed


Allied ground losses:
11 casualties reported

Airbase hits 7
Airbase supply hits 3
Runway hits 24

Aircraft Attacking:
18 x Ki-49 Helen bombing at 11000 feet

this is what I like! Even that I have lost 5 Wellingtons on the ground the enemy has lost more bombers AND pilots...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Kai Island , at 39,78

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 11
Ki-49 Helen x 11

No Japanese losses

Airbase hits 1
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 5

Aircraft Attacking:
6 x Ki-49 Helen bombing at 6000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Dacca , at 31,24

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 27
A6M3 Zero x 38
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 70

No Japanese losses

another sweep finds nothing... first the bombers are going in, then the sweep. Would have been funny to chew up the bombers first!


today Yanam was reconed with a Betty. Now the hammer! I have spotted three big TFs around 10 hexes South of Madras going towards Ceylon! [X(][X(] At least this is what my recon tells me. Is this a dream?? [>:] Ceylon is surely no fortress and I don´t know what he´s bringing but what if he takes Ceylon? And then? How will he try to hold it? This would be a wet dream of mine, as I would then have a base where I can train my pilots! If this is really an invasion of Ceylon, or the Madras area then it´s the worst he can do IMO. But again, it depends on how much he really brings. If there are 12 divisions that are going to land near Madras then I´m in trouble, as he would be able to probably take all of India. If not then it was the biggest mistake he could have made! But where on Earth should he take 12 divisions from? And after losing half of his APs, how would he transport anything more than 3?? divs?? Yippie! We will see... I have sent not even 2000 assault points towards Akyab, so India has something like 3000+ assault points left. Though 2000 are in the East. So all will depend on how much he will land and how fast he can take the rest of India in the West against my 800 assault points there.

To be honest, at the moment I think it´s just a bluff, and those big TFs are made up of CVEs or something like that. I just can´t believe he really tries to attack India now. Not as he´s doing recon in the East all the time and he can see how many troops I have there.

[castor troy]

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 09/05/42

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Dacca , at 31,24

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 5
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 13
Ki-21 Sally x 33

Allied aircraft
no flights

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-21 Sally: 4 destroyed, 18 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
Wellington III: 2 destroyed


Allied ground losses:
33 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

Airbase hits 5
Airbase supply hits 2
Runway hits 22

Aircraft Attacking:
7 x Ki-21 Sally bombing at 11000 feet

Hortlund keeps on working on bringing down his pilot pool. For 3 bombers lost on the ground (no pilot) he loses 6 Sallies to flak and one to ops...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Kai Island , at 39,78

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 11
Ki-49 Helen x 8

No Japanese losses

Runway hits 6

Aircraft Attacking:
5 x Ki-49 Helen bombing at 6000 feet

numbers of Japanese aircraft on training have gone down dramatically. Looks like he needs his daitais on the front...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Dacca , at 31,24

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 24
A6M3 Zero x 46
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 62

No Japanese losses

again, the sweep goes in AFTER the bombers. Still, with 70 Zeroes in this sweep I wouldn´t be smart to put up my fighters as they would just all get shot down... depressing, considering the date already. 5 months until the Corsair which will rule the sky until the Shinden will show up...


And here´s the situation in India. Believe it or not, it really seems the Japanese are making an attempt to land on Ceylon, expected place of the invasion is Trimcomalee which is a clear hex. I have spotted a TF that is probably the KB, escorted by a surface TF and one TF looks like an invasion TF. I expect to see more TFs, probably ASW and perhaps another surface combat TF but so far we "only" spotted those three TFs. So like I said in my last post, the Japanese commander must have gone nuts! [:D] It´s 9/42, my airforce in India is nowhere near defeated (in fact the bombers have never had such a high exp. than they have now), I have a lot of ground troops, even though they are mostly in the East (takes perhaps 14-20 days to bring them to the front via rail). I have ordered all my ships in this area to flee and have also my fighters flown out, my bombers are on nav search. If there´s KB and now I highly expect KB to be there, then it doesn´t make sense to see my fighters go down in dozens (or hundreds) against the super Zeroes with pilots all above 80 exp. So in fact we will just sit back for the moment, fly naval search and watch the Japanese making their first step into a disaster. IMO every result of this operation that won´t end in the complete conquer of India will be a disaster for the Japanese. Why? Because I will get bases to train my pilots! Even though a conquered Ceylon or some bases around Madras will stop my ship movement to the Eastern bases, it will bleed the Japanese and at some point I will overcome them and bomb those bases to dust. Then I will have my shipping lanes open again AND will have training targets.

At the moment, I expect something like 3 divisions coming in, which will surely be enough to seize Trimcomalee. Then Colombo could be target, probably again an amphibious operation as the march there takes quite some time. I guess it will take at least 3 or 4 weeks until the Japanese would be ready for an attack (with more than a couple of para squads) on the bases in the Madras area. In fact I wonder why I haven´t seen any of those tiny paradrops to seize the bases of Yanam, Hyderabad and the two bases South West of Madras. I´m also very excited to see how my static base force at Trimcomalee will perform. 2x9,2 inch and 16x6 inch CD guns will be ready and very well supplied to open fire on the invasion TF. There wasn´t much recon (only one or two Betty flights) so without the needed detection level the expected BB/CA bombardments could find it hard to nuke the base. I´m not really afraid to lose India, but if so, then Hortlund proves to be an excellent commander! Party time!




Another thing that I find really interesting is the way Hortlund is operating his ships! While I mentioned that IMO he´s VERY careless with his ships and aircraft, the handling of his ships is something that really strikes me. An example: like you see in the screenshot, he has moved a TF of 6 PC/PG to Akyab. Now they have been sitting there for quite some time (one was sunk on the way to Akyab already). I´ve got a lot of bombers on nav search (very high exp bombers) and they put bombs into his ships daily, with two of those vessels already sunk... There is no reason those PC/PG should be there. Can you tell me why he sacrifices 6 of his limited ASW vessels. Oh, I know, he doesn´t need them anyway... [X(]

Today, two of the AKs that were attacked at Gili Gili by my B-17s sunk! Now that isn´t a surprise, BUT guess where they sunk! They sunk North West of Rabaul, 4-7 hexes off Rabaul, on direct way to Truk! So instead of sending them to the port of Rabaul where perhaps he could save one of his ships, he just does nothing and he lets his ships retire to their homeport which probably was Truk. And that is something I have seen on and on. Ships that were hit somewhere (being normally in no danger of being sunk at all) then show up as sunk some 40 hexes away in the middle of the ocean, even though they had perhaps only 10 hexes to the next major port where they could be easily saved! This clearly shows me that he doesn´t care what happens to his damaged ships, those ships mostly retire just towards their home ports. So an AK is hit somewhere near Timor and then this AK tries to go to Japan instead of the next bigger port to bring down the 40 floatation damage. 15 turns later I´m surprised (now not anymore [8D]) that I get a message of this AK being sunk a couple of hexes around Palau! All in all, something I can´t understand as I´m always trying to save EVERY ship, no matter if PT or BB. And even more so when I play the Japanese side. With nearly 400 ships lost on the Japanese side, I guess between 50-100 were lost due to careless behaviour with damaged ships... not to mention the careless behaviour with undamaged ships! [;)]

[castor troy]

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 09/06/42

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TF 4 encounters mine field at Trimcomalee (15,25)

Japanese Ships
BB Haruna, Mine hits 2, on fire

The obvious is taking place! Target of the Japanese invasion is Trimcomalee! Another BB out of action for quite some time. Not heavily damaged so I guess Haruna won´t sink.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TF 79 encounters mine field at Trimcomalee (15,25)

Japanese Ships
DD Hatsukari, Mine hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
DD Hiyodori, Mine hits 1, on fire, heavy damage

Those two DDs could be in trouble though. All mines were VH2!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Naval bombardment of Trimcomalee, at 15,25

Japanese Ships
BB Mutsu
BB Hiei


Allied ground losses:
139 casualties reported
Guns lost 2
Vehicles lost 1

Runway hits 1
Port hits 1

pathetic results, as expected without heavy recon before...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Naval bombardment of Trimcomalee, at 15,25 - Coastal Guns Fire Back!

4 Coastal gun shots fired in defense.
Japanese Ships
CA Mikuma
CA Haguro, Shell hits 1
CA Takao
BB Ise, Shell hits 1


Allied ground losses:
170 casualties reported
Guns lost 4
Vehicles lost 3

Airbase hits 1
Runway hits 2
Port hits 5

same here, we nearly take no damage...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Dacca , at 31,24

Japanese aircraft
D3A Val x 22

Japanese aircraft losses
D3A Val: 9 destroyed, 4 damaged

Runway hits 4

Aircraft Attacking:
12 x D3A Val bombing at 2000 feet

now what can I say? After sending in Helens and Sallies at 11.000ft that got more or less butchered, Hortlund sends in Vals from Akyab that bomb at 2000ft. 11 are shot down. Can someone help him please?? [&:] Or has the AI taken over? [;)] This is what I mean when I say that he´s totally careless with his material!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Trimcomalee , at 15,25

Japanese aircraft
G4M1 Betty x 2

Japanese aircraft losses
G4M1 Betty: 2 damaged

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Kai Island , at 39,78

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 11
Ki-49 Helen x 6

No Japanese losses

Runway hits 4

Aircraft Attacking:
3 x Ki-49 Helen bombing at 6000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Trimcomalee , at 15,25

Japanese aircraft
G4M1 Betty x 2

Japanese aircraft losses
G4M1 Betty: 2 damaged


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Bangalore [8|]

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 250 troops, 2 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 15

Defending force 13456 troops, 120 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 352

Japanese max assault: 14 - adjusted assault: 0

Allied max defense: 348 - adjusted defense: 204

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


Japanese ground losses:
176 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

here we go! The para drops I expected to happen already last turn are happening today. Those guys are landing next to an Indian division...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Hyderabad

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 115 troops, 1 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 8

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

Japanese max assault: 10 - adjusted assault: 12

Allied max defense: 0 - adjusted defense: 1

Japanese assault odds: 12 to 1 (fort level 2)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Hyderabad base !!!

of course he drops not just on one base...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Trivandrum

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 112 troops, 0 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 5

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

Japanese max assault: 6 - adjusted assault: 8

Allied max defense: 0 - adjusted defense: 1

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

Japanese forces CAPTURE Trivandrum base !!!

next para drop...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Yanam

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 73 troops, 0 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 2

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

Japanese max assault: 2 - adjusted assault: 4

Allied max defense: 0 - adjusted defense: 1

Japanese assault odds: 4 to 1 (fort level 5)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Yanam base !!!

and the last one... he drops the same number or paratroopers on cities in India like he dropped on jungle bases in New Guinea. Well, I´m not surprised. I think I don´t have to tell anyone here what I think about it. But again, no way would Hortlund think some of his actions would be gamey. Not at all, as I am the one who has been acting gamey since 7 Dec 41...

as you can see from the screenshot there are already aircraft symbols at Yanam and Hyderabad. So would someone like to bet with me? I bet those are transports and he will lift 50 of the 100 paratroopers he just dropped there further inland! The only thing that could prevent him from doing this is that I told him I already expect him to do that.. with a lot of smilies behind my email... He doesn´t have aviation support at those bases, but he has 100 paratroopers, so he flies in 12 Tinas and drops 50 paratroopers on a city like Dehli! 50 paratroopers then take Dehli, a city with how many inhabitants? 1 Million? There would be more British soldiers on vacation than he has paratroopers now in whole India. Oh well, this is not my decision. He told me earlier I just should put troops into EVERY Indian base. Hey, no problem, there are only 30 of them. I could put one base force in each base and then there wouldn´t be more base forces. And not to mention that most of my base forces have an assault value between 0 and 10... [8|] go ahead Steve... I want to point out that I have no problem with the use of paras! Would he drop a whole btn on Yanam or whatever base, noone would complain. No, what he´s doing is trying to take all of India with 300 paratroopers... Wonder why Hitler not just took Moscow with a couple of paratroopers when he started the war against Russia in summer 41... There were a coule of aircraft that could reach the city...[8|]

But why am I complaining? Like I expected it, or should I say, like I dreamt about it, he provided me with lots of training targets for future operations. As you can see, so far, my base force hasn´t taken a lot of damage and his invasion TFs are still in danger of getting chewed up. I really would like to see one of those counter nukes from a CD unit! [:D] He even was lucky, as my CD unit LOST one of her two big guns. I haven´t spotted hundreds of ships, so for sure this invasion is nothing looking like 6+ divisions. In fact, I guess he will take Trimcomalee and then he will be stuck...

And of course we see again one of his picket TFs that he moved 3 hexes near Madras to draw some bombers... I didn´t have any on nav attack, but the use of those "picket Tfs" is just strange. He loses ships, while he achieves nothing... As there were picket ships in WW2 also, I don´t have a problem. So far, Hortlund´s picket ships suffered the same fate as those in WW2, they get sunk...

[castor troy]

I´m already thinking about mounting a 20 sub transport TF that lands 400 Marines at an empty base in Japan!

[castor troy]

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 09/07/42

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TF 133 troops unloading over beach at Mannargudi, 16,23


Japanese ground losses:
113 casualties reported

one TF with around 2000 troops landed at Mannargudi. If he uses paras he should use them at bases where he intends to land troops by ship the next turn...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TF 133 troops unloading over beach at Mannargudi, 16,23


Japanese ground losses:
25 casualties reported

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TF 13 encounters mine field at Trimcomalee (15,25)

Japanese Ships
DD Hasu
DD Samidare
CA Chokai, Mine hits 1 [:D]
DD Shikinami

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TF 79 encounters mine field at Trimcomalee (15,25)

Japanese Ships
DD Tanikaze, Mine hits 1 [:D]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Trimcomalee , at 15,25

Japanese aircraft
G4M1 Betty x 1

No Japanese losses

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Trimcomalee , at 15,25

Japanese aircraft
G4M1 Betty x 2

Japanese aircraft losses
G4M1 Betty: 2 damaged

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Kai Island , at 39,78

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 11
Ki-49 Helen x 6

No Japanese losses

Runway hits 6

Aircraft Attacking:
3 x Ki-49 Helen bombing at 6000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Dutch Harbor , at 103,36


Allied aircraft
F4F-3 Wildcat x 46
B-26B Marauder x 30


No Allied losses

Runway hits 2

Aircraft Attacking:
6 x B-26B Marauder bombing at 23500 feet

we are starting with our training programme on Dutch Harbour. I have to train mostly fighter squadrons so first I have to take out the flak guns or the supply to silent the flak. Which means first we will see dozens of bomber attacks, slowly reducing the alt to be save from to much losses to flak...

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Naval bombardment of Trimcomalee, at 15,25 - Coastal Guns Fire Back!

11 Coastal gun shots fired in defense.
Japanese Ships
CL Sendai, Shell hits 10, on fire, heavy damage [:D][:D]
CA Kako
CA Kumano
CA Chokai
BB Fuso
BB Nagato


Allied ground losses:
235 casualties reported
Guns lost 5

Runway hits 2
Port hits 4
Port supply hits 1

hehe! Looks like my 9,2 inch gun (which was destroyed, no 9,2 inchers left) was albe to hurt a CL. With heavy damage and that long way home I wonder if the ship will make it - I guess the chances are good to see it sunk! [:D]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Naval bombardment of Trimcomalee, at 15,25

Japanese Ships
CA Mikuma
CA Haguro
CA Takao
BB Ise


Allied ground losses:
63 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

Airbase hits 2
Runway hits 5
Port hits 6

another bombardment and soon there won´t be BBs/CAs left with ammo to do bombardments...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TF 163 encounters mine field at Trimcomalee (15,25)

TF 163 troops unloading over beach at Trimcomalee, 15,25


Japanese Ships
MSW Tama Maru
MSW Ataka Maru
MSW Asahi Maru #2
MSW Aoi Maru
PG Hashidate
DD Akizuki
AP Hakusan Maru, Mine hits 1
AP Kashiwara Maru, Mine hits 1, on fire

Japanese ground losses:
45 casualties reported
Guns lost 2

Coastal Guns at Trimcomalee, 15,25, firing at TF 163
381 Coastal gun shots fired in defense.
Japanese Ships
CA Ashigara, Shell hits 1
CA Suzuya, Shell hits 2
PG Hashidate, Shell hits 1
CA Aoba
CA Furutaka, Shell hits 2

Japanese ground losses:
1842 casualties reported
Guns lost 7

Allied ground losses:
41 casualties reported
Guns lost 2

[:D][:D][:D] lots of smilies today! The reasons for my smilies are different! Don´t know where I should start. Honestly I think my opponent is either trying to throw away the game or he really has gone nuts. Guess what he landed at Trimcomalee! O N E division... no, nothing more! O N E division! [:D] LOL, I have two brigades and the base force there and have flown in another full brigade the last two days with Dakotas!! And he lands O N E division without any support troops (don´t know if there´s a HQ though). This is one of the worst planned operations I have encountered so far in my PBEMs. How on Earth does he think he could achieve something with O N E division? I´m absolutely excited at the moment as all he´s doing at the moment is obviously just hurting him! And what I also don´t understand is the reason why he lands at the end of the day. I doubt he has unloaded all at once so my CD guns get another chance tomorrow. Still 13x6 inch guns left. Sorry, but this operation is badly planned. The only good decision I can see so far was to put those 4 IJN CAs into the invasion TF as not a single transport was hit.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Trimcomalee

Allied Bombardment attack

Attacking force 11786 troops, 104 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 354

Defending force 9667 troops, 82 guns, 6 vehicles, Assault Value = 363


Japanese ground losses:
25 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

Allied ground losses:
4 casualties reported
Guns lost 2

as you can see the Japanese can achieve NOTHING here! We have level 5 forts and 2 of my bgds are 100% prepped. [8D] I just can´t believe my eyes.

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Ground combat at Benares

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 80 troops, 0 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 1

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

Japanese max assault: 0 - adjusted assault: 2

Allied max defense: 0 - adjusted defense: 1

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

Japanese forces CAPTURE Benares base !!!

like I´ve said, there will be more paradrops! 80!!! men take Benares... But this is the one that I like the most! Benares is 2 hexes South of Lucknow! Lucknow can be built up to level 6 airfield (3 at the moment) and that is what I will have done in a month. Already sending out eng units to the airfield, then I will be able to train no less than 300 fighter/fighter bombers from this base alon against an undefended target that is only 2 hexes away! THANK YOU STEVE!

Have I said that this "attack" on India is a BIG mistake?? [:D]

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Ground combat at Ahmadabad

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 53 troops, 0 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 2

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

Japanese max assault: 2 - adjusted assault: 3

Allied max defense: 0 - adjusted defense: 1

Japanese assault odds: 3 to 1 (fort level 0)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Ahmadabad base !!!

and 53 men storm Ahmadabad...

With this move it´s already game over for the Japanese, even though the enemy commander seems not to know that yet. [:D] With the possibility to savely train my pilots, I guess this is worth a year of slowly grinding forward. A 80 exp pilot in a Warhawk will eat a 75 exp pilot in a Zero for breakfast...


I love this India operation!!!!! Don´t know how he could come up with such an idea...

[castor troy]

IMO the only thing he can (or better say should) do now is pick up his landed division again and turn back. He needs at least two more divisions at Trimcomalee and that was what I expected to see at min. So far he just has hurt himself.

[ny59giants]

I briefly took over a PBEM game as the Allies in late 5/42 to try to save India (which I did) as I thought it was too late (Big B's Mod). I had a lot of Chinese LCUs already under SE Asia command, but they were too far forward deployed. Thankfully, on ABs extended map, it is easy to have them march to Imphal and then quickly overland back to India (only one hex worth of traveling at 2 miles per day).
Thus, I don't see what he is trying to do at this late date unless he stops all offensive operations across the map and everything he's got is directed towards India. If not, then all these troops will be lost. Its just a matter of time (nice to have a self supplied POW camp in your mist). [:D]
Time to place some low experinced fighters on LRCAP over a few of his bases to knock out some of his transports cheaply. [;)]

[castor troy]

ORIGINAL: ny59giants

I briefly took over a PBEM game as the Allies in late 5/42 to try to save India (which I did) as I thought it was too late (Big B's Mod). I had a lot of Chinese LCUs already under SE Asia command, but they were too far forward deployed. Thankfully, on ABs extended map, it is easy to have them march to Imphal and then quickly overland back to India (only one hex worth of traveling at 2 miles per day).
Thus, I don't see what he is trying to do at this late date unless he stops all offensive operations across the map and everything he's got is directed towards India. If not, then all these troops will be lost. Its just a matter of time (nice to have a self supplied POW camp in your mist). [:D]
Time to place some low experinced fighters on LRCAP over a few of his bases to knock out some of his transports cheaply. [;)]

I just don´t know what he was up to. Never seen such a half hearted attempt to attack Ceylon. Even if it would be early 42, one division alone seems to be just not enough. And he hurts himself the most with his tiny paradrops, the fighter training programme will start in two weeks! [:D] Three months later it will be payback time.

[castor troy]

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 09/08/42

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Sub attack near Trimcomalee at 15,25

Japanese Ships
AP Hakozake Maru
PG Hashidate
MSW Tama Maru
MSW Ataka Maru
MSW Asahi Maru #2
MSW Aoi Maru
DD Akizuki
CA Aoba

Allied Ships
SS KXII

those 3500 dur subs aren´t worth alot as they can only fire salvoes of 2 torps. And the salvo missed...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Kai Island , at 39,78

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 11
Ki-49 Helen x 10

No Japanese losses

Runway hits 8

Aircraft Attacking:
7 x Ki-49 Helen bombing at 6000 feet

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Dutch Harbor , at 103,36


Allied aircraft
Wellington III x 46
B-26B Marauder x 28


Allied aircraft losses
B-26B Marauder: 1 damaged

Airbase hits 5
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 6

Aircraft Attacking:
4 x Wellington III bombing at 19000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on TF at 15,23


Allied aircraft
B-26B Marauder x 17


Allied aircraft losses
B-26B Marauder: 3 damaged

Japanese Ships
CA Chikuma
AP Kashiwa Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire
DD Kuretake
AK Muroran Maru

Aircraft Attacking:
1 x B-26B Marauder bombing at 6000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on TF at 18,25


Allied aircraft
B-26B Marauder x 9


No Allied losses

Japanese Ships
PG Muro Maru
AP Rozan Maru
AP Saiho Maru, Bomb hits 3, on fire, heavy damage

Aircraft Attacking:
1 x B-26B Marauder bombing at 6000 feet

we sink a small AP with 3x1000lb bombs. Those are my high exp. Mauraders that have operated a looong time out of India already. They can sink everything up to CA class - like all my level bombers in India! Hortlund should be aware of that!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Trimcomalee , at 15,25

Japanese aircraft
G4M1 Betty x 1

Japanese aircraft losses
G4M1 Betty: 1 damaged


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Mannargudi

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 1189 troops, 2 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 38

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

Japanese max assault: 28 - adjusted assault: 5

Allied max defense: 0 - adjusted defense: 1

Japanese assault odds: 5 to 1 (fort level 2)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Mannargudi base !!!

a NLF unit akes Mannargudi. For what reason ever... just another training target for us! Excellent, thank you Steve!

[castor troy]

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 09/09/42

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on 225 Group RAF , at 30,28

Japanese aircraft
A6M3 Zero x 26
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 3
Ki-21 Sally x 9
Ki-49 Helen x 67

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-21 Sally: 1 destroyed, 3 damaged
Ki-49 Helen: 11 destroyed, 45 damaged [:D][:D][:D]


Allied ground losses:
181 casualties reported

Aircraft Attacking:
17 x Ki-49 Helen bombing at 11000 feet [&:][&:]

I just don´t get it! Steve knows that HIS flak is a killer. He also knows that Allied flak is even stronger... and still he sends in his bombers at 11.000ft, where I see 150 out of 200 of my bombers being damaged when they attack at that height. Well, he suffers too! 23 bombers shot down by flak! Excellent work, in a couple of months, the Japanese pilot pools will be empty... 23 bombers lost and they disabled a dozen of my support squads...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Kai Island , at 39,78

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 10
Ki-49 Helen x 8

No Japanese losses

Runway hits 10

Aircraft Attacking:
6 x Ki-49 Helen bombing at 6000 feet

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on No. 112 RAN Base Force, at 54,92

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 5
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 26

No Japanese losses


Allied ground losses:
10 casualties reported

Aircraft Attacking:
26 x Ki-43-Ic Oscar bombing at 2000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Yokosuka 2nd SNLF, at 24,8


Allied aircraft
B-26B Marauder x 40


No Allied losses

Japanese ground losses:
18 casualties reported

Aircraft Attacking:
40 x B-26B Marauder bombing at 6000 feet

a newly arrived B-25 BG that was upgraded to Marauders starts with a training run on the 50 paratroopers that were dropped into Ahmadabad. I try to use my Marauders mostly in India, with my Mitchels that have one hex more range in the Pacific.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub attack near Rangoon at 29,34

Japanese Ships
PC Ishigaki, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
PC Kunashiri
PC Hachijo

Allied Ships
SS O19

O19 and O20, the Dutch mine layer subs, have proved to be real killers with both their torps and mines. On a minelaying mission to Rangoon, O19 sinks Ishigaki, one of the 8000 dur PCs with an ASW value of 8!!! [:D]


and here´s a screenshot of India! As you can see most of the Japanese TFs are already turning back, after achieving N O T H I N G! [:D] Only KB seems to stay static in it´s hex. At the moment it even seems that the Japanese decided to leave the IJA division behind, for what reason ever. I expected them to load it again and head for Rangoon. What a disastrous mission... I didn´t like to use my full airpower against the invasion as I was not willing to lose a lot of fighters but with the full force of my bomber squadrons in India, this could have been a total disaster for the IJN. I guess the fact that I have no training targets can be also called a total disaster for my enemy! One important thing for the Japanese is to try to make it as hard as possible for the Allied to train up his fighters. As long as you are able to manage this, you have very good odds in Nikmod! Far better odds than in stock IMO, but Hortlund thinks the Japanese side is crippled in the mod. But he´s just crippling himself with those attacks. Nevertheless, our operations have provided a lot of fun in this PBEM!

[castor troy]

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 09/10/42

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub attack near Truk at 63,78

Japanese Ships
AK Shojin Maru

Allied Ships
SS Amberjack

torps fail to detonate and the small AK will live on...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Kai Island , at 39,78

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 11
Ki-49 Helen x 10

No Japanese losses

Runway hits 13

Aircraft Attacking:
7 x Ki-49 Helen bombing at 6000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Dutch Harbor , at 103,36


Allied aircraft
Wellington III x 47
B-26B Marauder x 24


Allied aircraft losses
Wellington III: 5 damaged
B-26B Marauder: 2 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
22 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

Airbase hits 4
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 32

Aircraft Attacking:
4 x Wellington III bombing at 16000 feet

flak fire is acceptable at this height, but it will take a long time to wear down the one or two base forces there. Perhaps I should send some BBs along...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on No. 112 RAN Base Force, at 54,92

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 6
A6M3 Zero x 2
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 29

No Japanese losses


Allied ground losses:
14 casualties reported

Aircraft Attacking:
29 x Ki-43-Ic Oscar bombing at 2000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Yokosuka 2nd SNLF, at 17,20


Allied aircraft
Mohawk IV x 9
P-39D Airacobra x 14


No Allied losses

Aircraft Attacking:
9 x Mohawk IV bombing at 2000 feet
14 x P-39D Airacobra bombing at 2000 feet

training run... Hortlund started to move his small fragments of paras (some 50 troops each) around in India to create ZOCs and probably to take some more bases...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Trimcomalee

Allied Bombardment attack

Attacking force 8980 troops, 80 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 254

Defending force 5549 troops, 34 guns, 5 vehicles, Assault Value = 233


Japanese ground losses:
123 casualties reported
Guns lost 1
Vehicles lost 1


as you can see, more than 5000 men are left behind by the Japanese. I have problems to understand why he didn´t load them up again... [&:]

[castor troy]

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 09/11/42

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TF 113 encounters mine field at Rangoon (29,34)

Japanese Ships
AK Tamahoko Maru, Mine hits 1, on fire

and another sub laid VH2 finds a victim...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TF 37 encounters mine field at Rangoon (29,34)

Japanese Ships
MSW Choun Maru #21
MSW Choun Maru #18
MSW Banshu Maru #56
MSW Banshu Maru #52

unfortunately a second later 4 MSW also enter Rangoon...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Kai Island , at 39,78

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 8
Ki-49 Helen x 7

No Japanese losses

Airbase hits 1
Runway hits 7

Aircraft Attacking:
7 x Ki-49 Helen bombing at 6000 feet
8 x Ki-43-Ic Oscar bombing at 2000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Dutch Harbor , at 103,36


Allied aircraft
Wellington III x 37
B-26B Marauder x 20


Allied aircraft losses
Wellington III: 3 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
13 casualties reported

Airbase hits 1
Airbase supply hits 5
Runway hits 28

Aircraft Attacking:
7 x Wellington III bombing at 16000 feet

I would like to see disabled guns...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Yokosuka 2nd SNLF, at 17,20


Allied aircraft
Mohawk IV x 9
P-39D Airacobra x 13


No Allied losses

Aircraft Attacking:
9 x Mohawk IV bombing at 2000 feet
13 x P-39D Airacobra bombing at 2000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on TF at 17,31

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 191 [:(]

Allied aircraft
B-26B Marauder x 24

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 39 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
B-26B Marauder: 24 destroyed [:(]

I have set my Marauders to max range naval attack and thought they would either not launch against KB or if so, they would all turn back. Their morale was only in the high 40s but it seems I passed exactly all die rolls I didn´t want to pass. Instead of killing themselfs against the KB cap I hoped to attack one of the other TFs. A pity... Imagine how Hortlund would have screamed if a bomber would have made it through Cap! [;)] Nearly 200 fighters on cap is far more than I had expected.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on TF at 19,31

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 40

Allied aircraft
B-26B Marauder x 6

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 2 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
B-26B Marauder: 5 damaged

leaking cap 2 hexes away, now my bombers turn back... I lost a monthly replacement rate today... [:(]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on TF at 18,30


Allied aircraft
B-26B Marauder x 6


No Allied losses

Japanese Ships
AP Saiho Maru, Bomb hits 3, on fire, heavy damage

Aircraft Attacking:
2 x B-26B Marauder bombing at 6000 feet

and this is all we get, we sink an already damaged small AP...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on TF at 16,31

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 10

Allied aircraft
B-26B Marauder x 3

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
B-26B Marauder: 1 damaged


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Trimcomalee

Allied Bombardment attack

Attacking force 9000 troops, 80 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 256

Defending force 5434 troops, 32 guns, 2 vehicles, Assault Value = 227


Japanese ground losses:
194 casualties reported
Guns lost 6
Vehicles lost 1

don´t know if my opponent tries to pick up those troops with transports but the loss list shows 2 Mavis transport float planes lost to ops today.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Hyderabad

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 1560 troops, 0 guns, 106 vehicles, Assault Value = 74

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

Allied max assault: 56 - adjusted assault: 28

Japanese max defense: 0 - adjusted defense: 1

Allied assault odds: 28 to 1 (fort level 0)

Allied forces CAPTURE Hyderabad base !!!


a small British TK regiment takes Hyderabad...

[castor troy]

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 09/12/42

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Kai Island , at 39,78

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 11
Ki-49 Helen x 7

No Japanese losses

Runway hits 7

Aircraft Attacking:
4 x Ki-49 Helen bombing at 6000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Lae , at 54,87 [:D]

Japanese aircraft
no flights

Allied aircraft
B-17E Fortress x 99

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 6 destroyed
D3A Val: 2 destroyed
Ki-57-II Topsy: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
B-17E Fortress: 13 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
291 casualties reported
Guns lost 7

Airbase hits 7
Airbase supply hits 2
Runway hits 33

Aircraft Attacking:
9 x B-17E Fortress bombing at 16000 feet

due to lack of naval targets my B-17 crews became bored and so I sent them to bomb Lae as I guessed there wouldn´t be a lot of Cap. Well, there was no Cap at all! [:D] For the loss of 1 bomber to flak we torched 15 aircraft on the ground...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on No. 112 RAN Base Force, at 54,92

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 5
A6M3 Zero x 3
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 31

No Japanese losses


Allied ground losses:
10 casualties reported

Aircraft Attacking:
31 x Ki-43-Ic Oscar bombing at 2000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Yokosuka 2nd SNLF, at 17,20


Allied aircraft
Mohawk IV x 11
P-39D Airacobra x 15


No Allied losses

Japanese ground losses:
10 casualties reported

Aircraft Attacking:
11 x Mohawk IV bombing at 2000 feet
15 x P-39D Airacobra bombing at 2000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on 33rd/A Division, at 24,8


Allied aircraft
B-26B Marauder x 36


No Allied losses

Japanese ground losses:
71 casualties reported
Guns lost 6

Aircraft Attacking:
36 x B-26B Marauder bombing at 6000 feet

now look at this! Hortlund is flying in fragments of the 33rd div to Ahmadabad to have another mini unit to create ZOCs deep into India...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Trimcomalee

Allied Bombardment attack

Attacking force 8968 troops, 80 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 232

Defending force 5217 troops, 24 guns, 1 vehicles, Assault Value = 220


Japanese ground losses:
20 casualties reported

I ordered transports to pick up the brigade from Trimcomalee again that I have flown in. And there are still Zeroes on LRCAP. Nothing than level 1 airfields in range and level 1 is not enough to fly LRCAP so it seems Hortlund has forgotten to switch back his KB Zeroes from LRCAP Trimcomalee.

[castor troy]

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 09/13/42

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TF 42 encounters mine field at Rangoon (29,34)

Japanese Ships
PG Toyotsu Maru
PG Kanko Maru
PG Kaiun Maru

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TF 57 encounters mine field at Rangoon (29,34)

Japanese Ships
PC Kunashiri
PC Hachijo

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TF 105 encounters mine field at Rangoon (29,34)

Japanese Ships
PG Taiko Maru

unfortunately no mine hit at Rangoon today!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Kai Island , at 39,78

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 11
Ki-49 Helen x 8

No Japanese losses

Runway hits 4

Aircraft Attacking:
6 x Ki-49 Helen bombing at 6000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Dutch Harbor , at 103,36


Allied aircraft
Wellington III x 41
A-20B Boston x 61
B-26B Marauder x 27


Allied aircraft losses
Wellington III: 1 damaged
B-26B Marauder: 1 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
66 casualties reported
Guns lost 2

Airbase hits 10
Airbase supply hits 10
Runway hits 63

Aircraft Attacking:
3 x Wellington III bombing at 16000 feet

wonder how long it will take until I can send my fighters in to bomb at 2000ft...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on No. 112 RAN Base Force, at 54,92

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 5
A6M3 Zero x 3
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 31

No Japanese losses


Allied ground losses:
14 casualties reported

Aircraft Attacking:
31 x Ki-43-Ic Oscar bombing at 2000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Yokosuka 2nd SNLF, at 17,20


Allied aircraft
Mohawk IV x 13
Hurricane IIb x 14


No Allied losses

Aircraft Attacking:
14 x Hurricane IIb bombing at 2000 feet

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Trimcomalee

Allied Bombardment attack

Attacking force 8988 troops, 80 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 232

Defending force 5145 troops, 23 guns, 1 vehicles, Assault Value = 220


Japanese ground losses:
66 casualties reported

[castor troy]

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 09/14/42

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TF 174 encounters mine field at Rangoon (29,34)

Japanese Ships
AK Oita Maru, Mine hits 1

another mine hit at Rangoon... Hortlund sends so many ships there and even though he knows there are mines and that he has MSW in the area he doesn´t seem to care...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub attack at 64,70

Japanese Ships
AP Daihachikyo Maru
PG Heijo Maru

Allied Ships
SS Seawolf, hits 1

not surprising, torps miss... [8|] something is wrong with my subs...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Kai Island , at 39,78

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 11
Ki-49 Helen x 9

No Japanese losses

Airbase hits 2
Runway hits 1

Aircraft Attacking:
3 x Ki-49 Helen bombing at 6000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Dutch Harbor , at 103,36


Allied aircraft
Wellington III x 43
A-20B Boston x 63
B-26B Marauder x 25


Allied aircraft losses
Wellington III: 3 damaged
A-20B Boston: 1 damaged
B-26B Marauder: 1 damaged

Airbase hits 7
Airbase supply hits 2
Runway hits 28

Aircraft Attacking:
3 x Wellington III bombing at 16000 feet

not one casualty?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on No. 112 RAN Base Force, at 54,92

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 5
A6M3 Zero x 3
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 31

No Japanese losses


Allied ground losses:
12 casualties reported

Aircraft Attacking:
31 x Ki-43-Ic Oscar bombing at 2000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on 33rd/A Division, at 24,8


Allied aircraft
B-26B Marauder x 34


No Allied losses

Japanese ground losses:
3 casualties reported

Aircraft Attacking:
34 x B-26B Marauder bombing at 6000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Trimcomalee

Allied Bombardment attack

Attacking force 8976 troops, 80 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 231

Defending force 5057 troops, 23 guns, 1 vehicles, Assault Value = 216


Japanese ground losses:
11 casualties reported


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Malir [8|][8|][8|]

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 73 troops, 0 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 2

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

Japanese max assault: 2 - adjusted assault: 4

Allied max defense: 0 - adjusted defense: 1

Japanese assault odds: 4 to 1 (fort level 2)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Malir base !!!

Hortlund teleports another para fragment far into India... I just don´t want comment it anymore, people know that I find this more than dumb... just look at the numbers of paras dropped... but hey, with this absolutely wrong decision to attack me in India at this date, he has punished himself enough that I don´t have to comment this acting anyway... If we ever get that far into the game, he will see me dropping mini para units at every empty base I can reach with my Coronados...[8|]

If we would play with a bigger map, he would think it´s realistic to take every base with 50 paras until he ends up somewhere in Italy... it must be realistic, as Hortlund wouldn´t do something that is gamey... no! no![;)]


Today I received my first Liberator group. Guess what! It was listed in the reinforcement list as B-24D and now I received 48 LB-30... my pool still has all LB-30 that accumulated over the months and I didn´t want to use them. Now I will use them... this costs me a monthly replacement of B-24Ds [8|]

[witpqs]

Hortlund teleports another para fragment far into India...

Are you sure they are fragments? Is there any HR against dropping whole units - do they have to be a minimum size?

[castor troy]

ORIGINAL: witpqs

Hortlund teleports another para fragment far into India...

Are you sure they are fragments? Is there any HR against dropping whole units - do they have to be a minimum size?

How would you call 73 men with an assault value of 2?? This is something Hortlund has been doing since day one of our PBEM. While I can live with the fact that he mops up bases on New Guinea with those mini paradrops I find it "strange", to stay polite, if he takes the whole sub continent with those 50-100 men paradrops that are now marching around in India to create ZOCs everywhere.

Hortlund says he never acts gamey and we all know the expression gameyness has a 100% different meaning for most people on the board. Like I said, what Hortlund is doing here would be the same if 1000 German paratroopers would have occupied thousands of sqare kilometers of Russia... perfectly realistic...

He thinks I should place combat units (or at least base forces with inf - problem is that 90% of my base forces have an assault value of 0 and there are 30 bases in India) in EVERY base on the map, not just at those bases 24 hexes away from his next base (Emily range). In EVERY base because the first day he drops into a base max 24 hexes away, flies in transports or patrols immediately and then he can drop again 24 hexes inland. Doing this with units of around 50 men. So with 200 paratroopers at the moment he´s going to create dozens of ZOCs in India now and moves around there. [8|] For me it´s "strange", for him it´s a good strategy. Well, also Trollelite thinks he´s a strategic genius. I´m only glad he can´t drop paras into Continental USA as I don´t have an inf division everywhere there either. If people are crying about the abuse of the Japanese turn one movement bonus that sees invasions far away from what would have been possible in real life, what should I say about para invasions 70 hexes away from the next major Japanese base which is Rangoon?

But what am I talking about??? With this absolutely IMO amateurish invasion attempt he provided me with super training possibilities for my fighters and in 6 month at the latest he will scream about that, because his aircraft will be shot out of the sky by my Warhawk pilots with 80+ exp. But then the mod won´t be working in his oppinion, while I think it´s okay for him to see his Zeroes killing the best I can field at 5:1+ kill rates. While we know that he doesn´t think it´s okay that he can´t take down my bombers! [:D]

And I have already loaded up 3 Marine F4F-3 squadrons that will train in India and then convert to Corsairs in early 43. What then? Perhaps the game will end. But like I said, the Japanese commander should always think about what he´s doing if that "might" be problematic, because the Allied commander can pay it back 10 times harder later on with his mighty force available.

At the moment my opponent reached the map edge in India, so there won´t be that many of those paradrops anymore. Would the map be bigger then Japanese mini para units would seize the Suez Channel in the next couple of days...

[2ndACR]

Well, they actually are not (the first landings anyway) fragments, but since he is using his Tina's at about the max range, they can only carry a very small portion of the unit. Tina's only have a load factor of 2,000 IIRC. But I do understand what you are saying. I never liked them either (I have played many times against Steve) but I never really sweat them either. Of course, I do garrison as much of India or every base (except dot base etc) I want against him. I save every single Dutch Garrison Bn I can lay my hands on and use these for my rear garrisons until my base forces have their infantry.
 
Dakotas, C46 and Tabby's have a load factor of 10,000. Of course these are the real workhorse transports and I do everything I can to secure a level 2 or larger base to mass lift airborne and then larger LCU's.