Forlorn Hopes: The Japanese Respond

[John 3rd]

I am of the same opinion.  The American Fleet appears to be vast and made up of 20+ TF.  How can I guarantee that I hit his CVs at the risk on my own? 
 
This is nuts.
 
CVEs should guard the Invasion Force while the CVs/CVLs go looking for battle!
 

[ny59giants]

You can afford to lose LBA.
You can less afford to lose CV trained aircraft.
You can least afford to lose your CV/CVL/CVE.
 
Plan along those lines. [;)]

[John 3rd]

Agreed Michael.  My CVs cannot be risked in a hopeless engagement.
 
I'll let him him get tied to a beach-head and then start hitting him at that point.  Don't have a clue as to where he wants to land.  Time helps me because he burns fuel, sorties with his aircraft, I can gather more planes, and it gives me time to upgrade more of my Daitai to much more survivable aircraft.
 
Will keep updates coming at we get turns done tomorrow.
 
 

[Chimaera]

As a Japan player (my PBEM is in April 1943) I can certainly feel for ya. Crunch time and all that! Best of luck and be sure to bloody his nose, very bloodily [:)]

[ny59giants]

Place subs everywhere you think he may land at.
Hopefully, he will have enough cripples to give you plenty of targets. [:D]
I don't know how many Glen carrying subs you have, but I would send 2 each to Midway, Pearl, and San Fran. Just remember to move them every turn. [;)]

[veji1]

he is expending sorties and fatigue on slow ships, good. What you want is to get him to attack you with his fighters : You don't want to send strikes against 400 unfatigued Hellcats, you want him to send 200 hellcats+torp+Dive against your CAP so that at least you attrit him before sending your attacks... could you set at LRCAP trap somewhere on the way to where he is going ?

The more he attacks your LBA, the less you will have to face with your CVs. The key is to get to a point where you can send the KB for a decisive battle against 200 fatigued Hellcats rather than 400 rested ones...

Use the LBA first and engage KB only latter. No the priority is to group your forces : get the Taiho and friends back to TRUK asap, maybe swap their low xp Figther datais with Land based ones and then engage once you have worn him down..

Best of lucks..

[USSAmerica]

  Still reading, John, but reading both sides (and enjoying it immensely), so I'm keeping quiet. 

[John 3rd]

Excellent advice my readers!  Mike good to see you post again.  I've got too many Mikes/Michaels reading and contributing!

Aug 21st
Allied Invasion TF is at 76,57 and moved just 2 hexes.  I'll bet Dan is seeing shadows and wondering where the heck my response is...
 
Burma
Massive LBA attack at Rangoon!  I bloody his nose again:  Air-to-Air Results in Losses--Japan 17/Allies 70.  I do lose additonal 50 airframes on the ground but pilots losses are just 11.  He does a Deliberate Attack for 0-1:  Losses Japan 1805 Cas 54 Guns 1 Vehicle/Allies 5634 Cas 94 Guns.  Am preparing to evacuate Rangoon.
 
Australia sees large Aussie Armys approaching Broken Hill and Adelaide.  My LBA is pummeling his units.  I've only about 150 planes down here but they are getting in good work.

Noumea--In a probable diversion, I spot a small Surface Tf near Noumea and move 2 Daitai of Betty (1 from Australia and 1 from Papaete) to deal with that.

Papaete--Recall orders go out to my 3 CV operating in that region.  They will head for Suva and then to Truk.  If Dan is doing anything near Noumea then they can hit that on the way.

Reinforcements  I pull out of China 3 Daitai/Sentai of Fighters to Mukden and upgrade them.  In addition to that, 4 Bomber Sentai are pulled to Osaka for rest and preparation to attack Allied Forces.  Infantry Division that was heading for Iwo Jima is diverted to Appari.  I still have a hunch that he wants to coordinate with his LBA in China...Dan refuses to move forces to northern China to fight my planes there and so I think he may move towards the Philippines...


Veji1---Your idea holds CAPITAL merit.  I would never have thought to switch out their airgroups...  That will happen fast!

Michael---I have a concentration of 15 SS around Saipan and I think it is time to send them out within a day or two to harrass his forces.  He is moving so slowly, I don't know where he is going.

[John 3rd]

Combat Report
August 22-23, 1943
 
American Invasion Fleet
This wall of ships is creeping west at a constant speed of 3 hexes a turn.  During these two days the fleets moved from 76,57 to 70,57.  In another day he will be due north of Pagan and SSE of Iwo Jima.  The safe bet would be Pagan; however, IF he moves west another day, then I know the target is the PHILIPPINES! 

Figuring he wants to link up with his LBA in China, Dan must land in Luzon.  This would mean either Aparri or Legaspi.  I would move on Legaspi due to its large AF and decent-sized Port.  Aparri; however, is closer to China.  I am ordering all available troops to either port.  I am mining the heck out of these places with 5 ML at each location

Thinking that I might be hallucinating about the Philippines, I land a Brigade at Pagan just in case...

Burma
Looks like the endgame is coming quickly for Rangoon.  His aerial pressure is relentless at the monent.  He struck there both days with the following aircraft:  36 P-40N and 15 Wellington then 73 Fighters (split between P-38 and Spitfires) escorting 27 2EB.  The Japanese met these forces with 67 Tony and 107 Tony/26 Tojo on the two days.  As usual, the Japanese pilots did well!  Losses for the Americans totalled 64 planes:  18 P-40, 22 P-38, 17 Spitfire, and 9 Wellington.  Japanese losses were 44 planes:  38 Tony, 6 Tojo with a loss of 27 pilots.  Things are bad but not yet desperate.

I have been splitting up my Infantry Divisions and withdrawing the A portion to either Tavoy or Georgetown over the last several weeks.  They are congregating at Bangkok to rebuild when the rest of their units are wiped out and/or evacuated.

I have enough AK/AP/Barges to pull a substantial portion of Rangoons garrision when the time comes.

Australia
The enemy approaches both Adelaide (5 units) and Broken Hill (9 units).  Attacks should come pretty fast.  My planes, as mentioned earlier, are hitting his forces.  When a breakthrough occurs, everyone will fall back to Alice Springs...

Noumea
I think Dan tried to distract me by feinting for Noumea.  If so it did not work.  A force of 53 Betty whalloped his TF on the 22nd hitting an AS, 2 AP, and 4 AK.  An AK and AS sunk immediately.  The survivors are moving towards Auckland where 3 SS wait to pick them off.

China
I have withdrawn my troops from Wuchow and am pulling back from Yenan.  They served notice to Dan that I will NOT sit back on my heels here.  I still plan to take that far northern Chinese city because it has poor roads to it.  I should be able to grab it pretty fast and threaten the other Northern cities from there.

My aircraft continue to train in large numbers up in this region.

Home Islands
My Economy has a HUGE surplus of HI (15,000+) right now!  This is due to my economic advisor Minister Benoit. 

We are concerned that a Convoy carrying 235,000 oil might be in harm's way of the appraoching Americans.  That TF needs to get through.  There are plenty of resources but that oil is IMPERATIVE.

CVL Chiyoda joined the IJN on August 22nd!  I sortie 3 CVL and 6 CVE to Osaka to replennish before sailing for battle.  I think I will slip them behind the Americans...

Ideas?  Thoughts??
 

[ny59giants]

Sir John,
You have a bad habit [:-][:-] of having your AK/TK load at a particular port like Tarakan (Home Port) and then set the destination as Osaka. The AI will set a direct route from point "A" to "B." I reset the mega-oil TF to have a destination to the west of Japan and allowed the home point to remain the same. These does two things: it avoids it coming close to the American "Death Star" and the escorts will have a shorter distance to their Home Port and be less likely to have "at sea" refueling. Any other TF near the Americans was changed also. [;)]
 
Minister Benoit
Japanese Economic Foreman
 
p.s. - question for the more advanced Japanese economic advisor/players
When viewing the industry screen, the number of engines needed is say 1000 and the production number is number 1200, does the needed number take into account the aircrafts still under r & d?? Or do they count only once actual production starts?? This will help me understand if expansion or converstion needs to take place for the coming months.

[Mike Solli]

ORIGINAL: ny59giants
p.s. - question for the more advanced Japanese economic advisor/players
When viewing the industry screen, the number of engines needed is say 1000 and the production number is number 1200, does the needed number take into account the aircrafts still under r & d?? Or do they count only once actual production starts?? This will help me understand if expansion or converstion needs to take place for the coming months.

R&D aircraft don't count. They don't use engines. They'll be added as soon as the R&D is finished.

[ny59giants]

Thanks Mike!
I had Damian (n01487477) PM the same thing. Now I have two "official" Japanese experts say the same thing, so I know its true. [;)]  I now have to get John to install WitPTracker and teach him how to use it so I can "retire" from this job as economic advisor. [:D][:D]   I have gotten the "cluster" of bases for Japan's Home Islands corrected and will need to do more so info on different areas is more accurate.
 
QQ - Do most Japanese players consider Korea separate from Manchuria for garrison requirements, economic issues, and combat planning?? I made them separate for the Tracker, but I can change them back if there is a concensus.

[n01487477]

It is a dual edged sword for me ... economically they are part of the Manchuria, yet I find that I like importing supplies from Korea and export raw materials when I need to do so, so I usually cluster them independent of Manchuria ...

Good news is that I've started working on better histories for supplies and resources (WitpTracker) as per Michael's recommendation, and although it won't be ready for next build, the new build will be out shortly ...

[ny59giants]

Thanks Damian,
Please read the question I posted in the WitP Tracker thread and relate that to this screenshot of the engine (Kawasaki). John has over 400 of the Tony's in R & D (due in less than 6 weeks), but is only producing 200 engines a month currently. I'm confused, as usual, and need to understand what the Tracker is saying about this engine, as an example. Didn't want to post it in the Tracker thread to keep his opponent blind.

[Mike Solli]

I consider Korea to be part of Manchuria.  All the units there are Kwantung Army.
 
I haul resources out of Korea (southern most base) as fast as I can and send them to Japan.  Manchuria/China (I consider it all one region due to the rail lines) has an excess of resources and Japan needs lots.  With all the resource centers there, I don't worry about supply for China.  There's never an overabundance, but there's enough.

[John 3rd]

I have a question for the Master of this Mod.  Brian do you have the upgrade paths for your aircraft in this Mod?  I assume that the early Tony--using Kawasaki engine--is replaced by the later Tony who uses engines from elsewhere.  Is this true?  Could you post onto this AAR e Upgrade Paths for Japanese aircraft?
 

[ny59giants]

Sir John,
Unless I'm reading the WitP Tracker incorrect, the various Tony models are the only planes that use the Kawasaki engines. You can sort your current aircraft along with those in R & D by engine types (amoung other useful ways). [:D]

[n01487477]

ORIGINAL: ny59giants

Thanks Damian,
Please read the question I posted in the WitP Tracker thread and relate that to this screenshot of the engine (Kawasaki). John has over 400 of the Tony's in R & D (due in less than 6 weeks), but is only producing 200 engines a month currently. I'm confused, as usual, and need to understand what the Tracker is saying about this engine, as an example. Didn't want to post it in the Tracker thread to keep his opponent blind.

Here is my analysis ...
There are only 2 planes using the Kawasaki, the KAIb and KaIc.
Pl Fcty Use : John is producing 66 KAIb's a month and using 66 Kawasaki Engines.
And 407 KAIc's are in R&D (parenthesis)
Potential P Fty T: add above together (66+407) = 473
Mth(day)+/-: Surplus Engines / month and (day) = 200 - 66
TBO Use: Number of planes in groups yet to arrive, but which should be built.

I have a question for the Master of this Mod. Brian do you have the upgrade paths for your aircraft in this Mod? I assume that the early Tony--using Kawasaki engine--is replaced by the later Tony who uses engines from elsewhere. Is this true? Could you post onto this AAR e Upgrade Paths for Japanese aircraft?

I'm not Brian, but I've played the mod ... "engines from elsewhere" ... I think you'll find they are still Kawasaki ... and below you can see that there are 2 screens. The first shows Upgrades and planes that can be upgraded and the second shows all upgrade paths for a mod ...

--Damian---

[John 3rd]

Combat Report
August 24-26, 1943
 
Summation:
I start this report with the summation that Dan doesn't know WHERE he is landing.  The American TF has slowly moved towards Iwo Jima and then went NORTH of Iwo Jima with no sign of troops landing.  I continue to gather forces for a counterstroke but want to know what the heck is going on before I commit...
 
American Invasion Fleet
I've already noted the strange movement of the TFs.  Dan's move north of Iwo Jima caught me by surprise and he had a field day hitting a trio of convoys.  I lost 2 AK, 3 AP, 6 MSW, and (most seriously) 5 ML.  While whalloping these forces, the American flew nearly a 1,000 sorties on the 25th.  Another 500 flew on the 26th sinking 7 more AK.  Does anyone know what a decent amount of Sorties the Americans can fly?  Dan had complained about the massive number of sorties flown when he passed through my Picket Line of AK and AP Convoy.  His CVs flew a total of 700 sorties then.  The total for these operations is now around 2,200...
 
Burma
Rangoon is finished.  The Forts have been dropped down to 7 and the AF is seriously damaged.  I've--finally--lost control of the air and am evacuating planes as fast as possible to Hanoi.  Several AK/AP/Barge TF have been doing good work ferrying troops over to Moulmein and Tavoy.  I've emptied the harbor and--thankfully--Dan's planes are simply concentrating on the AFs at the moment.  Should be able to hold long enough to get most of the troops evacuated.
 
Australia
Broken Hill and Adelaide are beseiged at the moment.  While there are a good amount of troops at Broken Hill, it appears that my forces are adequate to hold for a while.  Aircraft are still hitting the Aussie troops as will and doing some real damage in casualties.
 
Carriers
Osaka  3 CVL, 6 CVE, and escorts waiting for orders...
Truk  6 CV, 2 CVL, and the bulk of the Kaigun concentrated here.
Suva  3 CV and escorts just arrived, will refuel, and then head for Truk.
 
SS
I've concentrated 16 SS at Saipan.  Once Dan lands, these will move into the area to pick off any cripples that try to return to Midway...
 
  

[John 3rd]

Maybe Dan is going for Iwo Jima.  If so, I don't understand why.  This--in my opinion--would be a terrible decision: 
 
1.  It has a decent Sz-4 AF but only a Sz-1 Port.  Landing here would be insane for starting any sort of campaign. 
2.  I can attack from all angles and his closest Pacific base is Midway. 
3.  I am not sure if it is in range of his P-38s in China...
 
My BB/CA TF would have a BLAST hitting this location! 
 
There are 12-14,000 mines sitting there and if he takes a similar amount of damage as at Midway then one can write off something in the neighborhood of 60 AP/AK in addition to what is sunk outright during the landings.  I simply cannot believe this is the target...
 
The Philippines are a much more dangerous but better target.  He can cut me off from the DEI and be closer to China LBA.