The Battle Under: Japan looks to the South

[SierraJuliet]

05 April 1942[align=left] [/align] [/b][align=left] [/align]Malaya[align=left] [/align]Air: Near Madalay 34 Betty and 20 Helen bomb BFF Brigade and cause 15 casualties.[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]China[align=left] [/align]Land: At Ichang Japanese bombardment causes 82 casualties.[align=left] [/align]Air: Northwest of Hanoi 19 Sally bomb 21 Chinese Corps and cause 9 casualties.[align=left] [/align]At Ichang 12 Ann bomb 78th Chinese Corps and cause [align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]DEI[align=left] [/align]Air:  At Medan 18 Helen attempt to bomb 6th Dutch Naval Base Force.  A CAP of 5 Brewster 339D is on hand though.  The escort of 10 Oscar jumps the CAP and 2 Brewster are claimed as destroyed.  The bombers appear to have been put off their bomb run as no damage is caused.[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]Subs[align=left] [/align]No action reported.[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]Naval Losses for the Day[align=left] [/align]Nil[align=left] [/align] [align=left] [/align]Comments[align=left] [/align]Well not much really.  Operations are still underway but I guess some days have far less action than others.

[SierraJuliet]

ORIGINAL: flaggelant

couple a questions;

how much AV (or how many units) did you use to capture Java?
&
where's KB at ??
(and whats it doing over there)

For Java and the follow up in Sumatra I allocated the following.

Infantry - 5th Division, Imperial Guards Division, 23rd Mixed Brigade and Sasebo 3rd SNLF
Armour - 14th Tank Regiment
Engineers - 4th Naval Const. Battalion
Artillery - 3rd Mtn Gun Regiment, 3rd Hvy FA Regiment and 14th Mortar Battallion
HQ - 25th Army

I can't recall the assault value now but it was in excess of 1000. In the final analysis I think this force did very well once established at Soerabaja.

Left behind at Soerabaja is 3rd Fleet plus 4 base forces and a const. battalion. Some of these were in the initial assault but others arrived later.

KB is currently preparing to move out into the northern part of the Coral Sea as covering force for the Port Moresby invasion. I'm not planning on using it as a assault force against PM itself. There are only 4 units at PM so I'm expecting my ground forces should be able to deal with them along with some naval bombardment. KB is less Hiryu but has Junyo and Shoho in the mix.

[flaggelant]

that's A LOT more than i'm alocating .. hope its enough [&:]
(i'm moving in with 1 DIV & a multitude of smaller units, of which 3 nav guards make up the main part, coming down to about 800 AV max)
But without a lot of troops directed towards India there wouldn't be the slightest chance of succes over there
 
Are you expecting counter landings in the near future/ reinforcing any of the backwater islands (iwo / northern japan) to
prevent an easy capture by the allies in a not to distant future?
 

[SierraJuliet]

06 April 1942
 
Burma
Air:  Near Mandalay 27 Betty and 27 Helen bomb BFF Brigade and cause 48 casualties.
At Imphal 37 Zero take on 6 Buffalo I and 7 Hurricane II.  3 Buffalo and 4 Hurricanes are destroyed.
 
China
Land: Japanese bombardment attack causes 136 Chinese casualties.
Air: At Ichang 10 Ann bomb 70th Chinese Corps and cause 14 casualties.
 
South East Pacific
Air:  At Port Moresby 10 Betty bomb 4th Dutch Regiment and cause 9 casualties and 1 gun lost.
 
DEI
Air:  At Medan 13 Helen bomb 2nd WS Garrison Battalion and cause 8 casualties.
 
Subs
No action reported.
 
Naval Losses for the Day
Nil
 
Comments
Hi guys.... sorry for the lack of communication but the pleasure of doing a tour of night work has curtailed my ability to keep the AAR up to date.  Again not a lot to report apart from the aerial success over Imphal.  Big things are on the way though.  If you have been keeping up with Todd on his AAR I guess you already have an inkling for where we are at.
 
Flaggelant.  Re your last.  You should be fine in the DEI.  I may have overdid it but I seem to be working on a plan of throw the kitchen sink at the enemy and I should capture what I want without too much fuss.  I am certainly expecting something in the near future in t he way of counter attack/landings.  There are plenty of targets and Todd has plenty of fleet resources available to do it.  I have been working away at some of those isolated northern outposts but I doubt it is as good as it should be.... this is something I expect to be better at next time I fire up for a long haul struggle.

[SierraJuliet]

07 April 1942
 
Burma
Air: At Imphal 43 Zero turn up and take on 6 Buffalo and 8 Hurricane.  2 Zero destroyed for 6 Buffalo and 5 Hurricane reported destroyed.
Near Mandalay 23 Betty and 8 Helen bomb BFF Brigade and cause 18 casualties.  At the same location 11 Betty and 3 Helen also bomb 1st Burma Rifles Brigade and cause 11 casualties.
Land: Near Mandalay Japanese bombardment causes 6 Allied casualties.
 
China
Land: Japanese bombardment at Ichang causes 98 Chinese casualties.
Air: Northwest of Hanoi 19 Sally bomb 21st Chinese Corps and cause 34 casualties.
At Ichang 10 Ann bomb 70th Chinese Corps and cause 13 casualties.
 
DEI
Air: At Makassar 6 Nell bomb the Garrison Battalion and cause 1 casualty.  A further aerial assault by 11 Nell causes 23 casualties to the Garrison Battalion.
 
South East Pacific
Air:  At Port Moresby 36 Betty bomb 4th Dutch Regiment and cause 43 casualties.
 
Subs
Off shore from Sydney SS I-2 misses an opportunity to score on a cargo convoy.  For her troubles she takes 1 hit from the ASW escorts.
Near Rabaul a Japanese ASW task force locates SS Pollack with 3 hits being reported on the submarine.
 
Naval Losses for the Day
Nil
 
Comments
F1/Tainan Daitai and F1/3rd Daitai, both operating out of Mandalay, reach 50 kills each.  Invasion fleet is approaching Macassar.

[SierraJuliet]

08 April 1942
 
Burma
Air: Near Mandalay 15 Helen bomb BFF Brigade and cause 33 casualties.
 
China
Land: At Ichang Japanese bombardment causes 41 Chinese casualties and 1 gun lost.
Air: North east of Hanoi 19 Sally bomb 29th Chinese Corps and cause 13 casualties.
 
DEI
Air:  At Teloekbetoeng 27 Sally bomb Zuid Garrison Battalion and cause 25 casualties and 1 gun lost.
At Makassar 6 Nell attack the Garrison Battalion and cause 7 casualties.  8 Nell also target 9th DAF Base Force at this location and cause 18 casualties and 1 vehicle lost.
Near Batavia 3 Martin 139 locate a transport task force without air cover and land 2 bombs on board AP Yubae Maru causing 20casualties and 1 gun lost.
 
South East Pacific
Sea: Whilst clearing mines around Rabaul PC Takunan Maru #2 hits 1causing heavy damage.
Air: At Port Moresby 28 Betty bomb Port Moresby Defense Brigade and cause 6 casualties.
 
Subs
Near Rabaul SS KVIII misses a transport convoy and is reported to have taken 1 hit from the escorts.
 
Naval Losses for the Day
Nil
 
Comments
Nothing much out of the ordinary going on this turn.  Submarine activity seems to be on the move though.  Preparations are underway for the sea borne assault on Teloekbetoeng.

[SierraJuliet]

09 April 1942

Burma
Air: East of Lashio 39 Betty and 20 Helen bomb BFF Brigade and cause 58 casualties.
Ground: East of Lashio Japanese bombardment attack causes 8 Allied casualties.

China
Air: West of Hanoi 16 Sally bomb 21st Chinese Corps and cause 39 casualties and 1 gun lost.
At Ichang 12 Ann bomb 78th Chinese Corps and cause 41 casualties and 1 gun lost.
Ground: Japanese bombardment attack causes 189 Chinese casualties and 1 gun lost.

DEI
Sea: Macassar is bombarded by Fuso and Nagato supported by Atago and Maya. Allied losses are reported as 301 casualties with 4 guns and 3 vehicles lost. The airbase is takes 8 hits, airbase supply 8 hits, port 1 hit, port fuel 4 hits and port supply 1 hit.
Ground: Troops come ashore at Teloekbetoeng.
At Macassar Allied bombardment attack causes 2 casualties and 1 gun lost.
Air: At Palembang 21 Zero swoop on 6 Hawk 75A and bring down 2 Hawks.
At Telokbetoeng 23 Sally bomb Zuid Garrison Battalion and cause 21 casualties.
Near Telokbetoeng 2 Martin 139 locate a group of ships. The CAP of 11 Oscar deals with the intruders and shoots down 1 bomber.
At Medan 11 Helen bomb 2nd NS Garrison Battalion and cause 37 casualties.

South East Pacific
Air: At Port Moresby 23 Betty bomb 4th Dutch Regiment and cause 55 casualties with 4 guns lost.

Subs
No action reported.

Naval Losses for the Day
Nil

Comments
The assault of Teloekbetoeng has commenced. Looks as though some of the Dutch troops have made their way to Port Moresby.

[SierraJuliet]

10 April 1942

China
Land: At Ichang Japanese bombardment causes 72 Chinese casualties and 2 guns lost.

DEI
Ground: At Macassar Japanese bombardment causes 12 Allied casualties. The return Allied fire results in 1 Allied casualty with 1 gun lost.
Air: At Medan 15 Helen bomb 6th Dutch Naval Base Force and for the loss of 1 bomber cause 24 casualties.

South East Pacific
Air: At Port Moresby 41 Betty bomb 4th Dutch Regiment and cause 75 casualties and 2 guns lost.

Subs
No action reported.

Naval Losses for the Day
Nil

Comments
Short day for action report. Gili Gili, however, reported a size increase to level 3.

[Local Yokel]

Good to see this game and its AAR are ongoing, even though you can now hear the wind rustling the sedges in this forum!

I see from an earlier post that you had Junyo teamed up with Akagi and (?)Shokaku. Lots of people disparage Junyo and Hiyo, but I think the Japanese got extremely good service out of them, all things considered. However, Junyo is appreciably slower than all the big fleet carriers, and can impair their mobility as a result. Generally I find that, speedwise, Junyo and Hiyo team up well with a Nagato, or, at a pinch, one of the older battleships, but I try keep them in a TF other than those containing the original 6 fleet carriers, with the possible exception of Kaga, whose 28 knot top speed can also tend to hobble her consorts' rate of advance.

[flaggelant]

back in business!!
 
 

[SierraJuliet]

Hi guys.

Thanks for the posts Local Yokel and flaggelant. I guess tocaff mentioned in his AAR that I've been AWOL while on a driving/camping holiday with the family and other families from work as we made a drive from the south of central Australia up through the desert and onto some of our famous landmarks such as Uluru and other big rocks. On the way I managed to sneak a look at the Japanese garden and the Australian and Japanese War Cemetries plus the site of the prisoner of war camp at Cowra. Of course a visit to the War Memorial at Canberra was a must. Finally we made our way back to Queensland via the Barkly Highway which I understand came into existence through some major assistance from American engineers during the war.

Point taken on Junyo and the fast carriers. Given that I'm 4 weeks since last having a good look at things I think my major carrier assets (apart from Hiryu still repairing in the HI) are based at Rabaul. The game is currently sitting at 2 May so I have a few weeks of AAR to catch up on, which will help considerably in catching up with where I am at.

I know what you mean about the wind rustling in the sedges. Four weeks away and my AAR is still on the same page!

[SierraJuliet]

11 April 1942

Burma
Air: East of Lashio 21 Betty and 18 Helen bomb BFF Brigade and cause 16 casualties.
Ground: Japanese shock attack east of Lashio achieves assault odds of 181 to 1. Japanese loses reported as 55 casualties and 6 guns lost. 1st Burma Rifles and 2nd Burma Rifles surrender with 4245 men captured.

China
Land: Japanese bombardment attack causes 44 Chinese casualties and 1 gun lost.
Air: West of Hanoi 14 Sally bomb 29th Chinese Corps and cause 3 casualties and 1 gun lost.

DEI
Sea: Troops are unloading at Macassar. 6 coastal gun shots are fired with 1 reported hit on AP Oigawa Maru. During daylight hours 10 coastal guns are in action with Oigawa Maru reporting another 3 shell hits.
Ground: At Macassar Japanese shock attack achieves assault odds of 76 to 1 (fort level 2) and the base is captured. Japanese loses reported as 91 casualties and 5 guns lost. Macassar Garrison Battalion and 9th DAF Base Force Surrender loosing 2511 men and 9 guns lost.
At Teloekbetoeng Japanese shock attack achieves assault odds of 95 to 1 (fort level 4) and the base is captured. Japanese loses reported as 31 casualties and 1 gun lost. Zuid Garrison Battalion and 5th Dutch Naval Battalion retreat towards Palembang and report 341 casualties and 5 guns lost.
Air: 21 Zero raid Palembang and meet 21 Hawk 75A. 1 Hawk is destroyed.
At Telokbetoeng 17 Sally bomb Zuid Garrison Battalion and cause 31 casualties.
At Macassar 7 Nell bomb Makassar Garrison Battalion causing 6 casualties and 1 gun lost. A further attack by 15 Nell causes 8 casualties.

South East Pacific
Air: At Port Moresby 10 unescorted Betty bombers are confronted by a CAP of 12 Kittyhawk. 2 Betty are lost.

Subs
No action reported.

Naval Losses for the Day
Nil

Comments
I hate it when my bombers don’t bother with an escort. A good day on the ground with Telokbetoeng and Macassar falling. The troublesome units east of Lashio have almost been eliminated but for the time being BFF Brigade remains elusive.

[SierraJuliet]

12 April 1942

Burma
Air: East of Lashio 32 Betty and 15 Helen bomb BFF Brigade and cause 7 casualties.
Ground: East of Lashio Japanese shock attack achieves assault odds of 423 to 1. Japanese loses reported as 20 casualties and 1 gun lost. BFF Brigade surrenders 1959 men.

China
Land: At Ichang Japanese bombardment causes 83 casualties and 1 gun lost.

DEI
Sea: Troops are unloading at Kendari.
North Kendari 3 Martin 139 locate at transport task force and land 2 bombs onboard AP Kashiwa Maru.

South East Pacific
Air: At Port Moresby 33 Betty (this time escorted by 23 Zero) bomb 4th Dutch Regiment and cause 85 casualties and 3 guns lost. 1 Betty is lost and 2 Kittyhawk are reported destroyed.

Subs
No action reported.

Naval Losses for the Day
Nil

Comments
Finally my troops have cleared the remaining British units that had gone bush near Lashio.

[SierraJuliet]

13 April 1942

China
Air: West of Hanoi 10 Sally bomb 21st Chinese Corps and cause 43 casualties. A further attack by 6 Sally against 50th Chinese Corps causing 7 casualties. At Ichang 29 Ann bomb 70th Chinese Corps causing 44 casualties. 78th Chinese Corps is also attacked by 13 Sonia causing 16 casualties.
Ground: Japanese shock attack at Ichang achieves assault odds of 26 to 1 (fort level 3 – reduced from 5) and the base is captured. Japanese loses reported as 3832 casualties with 79 guns and 2 vehicles lost. 19th Group Army, 49th, 70th, 78th and 79th Chinese Corps surrender 47 297 men and loose 86 guns.

DEI
Sea: Near Amboina a Japanese surface action group is located and attacked by 6 Martin 139. Without causing any damage the attackers depart after losing 1 of their number to flak.
At Amboina Nagato, Fuso, Atago and Maya bombard the base. 20 coastal guns reply with CL Yura reporting 3 hits, Atago 3 hits and Fuso 4 hits. Allied casualties are reported as 283 casualties, 2 guns and 1 vehicle lost. The airbase took 1 hit, airbase supply 4 hits, the runway 34 hits and the port 1 hit.
Air: At Palembang 21 Zero turn up and destroy the sole Hawk 75A in the air.
West of Telokbetoeng 17 Sally bomb Zuid Garrison Battalion causing 12 casualties.
At Medan 13 Helen attempt to attack the garrison but their aim is put off by the CAP of 2 Brewster 339D. The escort of 7 Oscar accounts for 1 Brewster. A further attack by 4 Sally and 16 Helen against 6th Dutch Naval Base Force causing 30 casualties. The escort of 15 Oscar account for the CAP of a single Brewster 339D.

South East Pacific
Sea: At Port Moresby Kongo, Ise and Hyuga in company with Myoko, Nachi, Mogami and Mikuma bombard the base. Allied loses reported as 317 casualties and 8 guns lost. The airbase is hit 11 times, the airbase supply takes 5 hits, the runway 63 hits and port supply 5 hits. 3 Kittyhawk are also destroyed.
Air: At Port Moresby 8 Betty bomb 4th Dutch Regiment causing 14 casualties.

Subs
East of Singapore SS KXVI puts 1 torpedo into AP Kenshin Maru.

Naval Losses for the Day
Nil

Comments
Another achievement with Ichang falling. The hits on the bombarding force at Amboina caused no serious damage.

[SierraJuliet]

14 April 1942

DEI
Air: Near Kendari 2 Martin 139 make an attack on the task force present there. 37 Zero performing CAP meets them and splash 1 of the bombers. No ships are damaged.

South East Pacific
Sea: Mutsu, Chokai, Haguro, Aoba, Kinugasa, Kako and Furutaka bombard Port Moresby and cause 89 casualties, 2 guns lost, 1 airbase supply hit, 4 runway hits, 2 port hits and 1 port supply hit. In the daytime bombardment phase 170 Allied casualties are reported along with 3 guns lost, 6 runway hits, 1 port hit and 3 port supply hits. PG Nagata Maru suffers 1 shell hit and MSW W.20 takes 2 shell hits from the shore batteries firing at the invasion fleet.
Air: 9 Betty strike at Port Moresby (again they dispense with fighter escort). They meet a lone Kittyhawk and 1 Betty is lost in the raid. No damage is reported on the ground. In a second attack 18 Betty escorted by 8 Zero loose 2 Betty (1 Kittyhawk again on CAP) and inflict 13 casualties on Port Moresby Defense Brigade.
Ground: Troops start coming ashore at Port Moresby. Allied bombardment attack causes 11 Japanese casualties.

Subs
No action reported.

Naval Losses for the Day
Nil

Comments
The invasion of Port Moresby is underway. Not sure that tocaff will respond to this invasion given his policy of withdrawal but just in case KB is covering in the Coral Sea.

[SierraJuliet]

15 April 1942

China
Air: West of Hanoi 14 Sally bomb 50th Chinese Corps and cause 7 casualties.

DEI
Air: 21 Zero raid Palembang and find 3 Hawk 75A. 2 Hawk are destroyed.
West of Telokbetoeng 17 Sally bomb Zuid Garrison Battalion and cause 31 casualties.
Near Toboali 3 Martin 139 locate a transport task force and land 2 bombs on AK Kano Maru.

South East Pacific
Sea: Ise, Hyuga, Kongo, Myoko, Nachi, Mogami and Mikuma return to bombard Port Moresby and cause 129 Allied casualties, 1 gun lost, 1 airbase hit, 1 runway hit and 7 port supply hits.
Air: At Port Moresby 20 Betty bomb 4th Dutch Regiment and cause 24 casualties and 1 gun lost. A second raid by 15 Nell bombs Port Moresby Defense Brigade causing 7 casualties.
Ground: Japanese bombardment attack at Port Moresby causes 22 Japanese casualties and 3 guns lost against 32 Allied casualties and 2 guns lost.

Subs
Near Singapore MSWs W.16, Musashi Maru and Rokko Maru plus PCs Ch 16, Ch 18 and Ch 32 locate SS Truant and with a reported 12 hits the submarine is sunk.

Naval Losses for the Day
SS Truant

Comments PO2 Kanzaki O. Of F2/3rd Daitai flying out of Batavia is credited with kill number 5.

[SierraJuliet]

16 April 1942

China
Air: West of Hanoi 14 Sally bomb 29th Chinese Corps and cause 15 casualties.
Near Ichang 13 Sonia bomb 60th Chinese Corps and cause 10 casualties.

DEI
Sea: Nagato, Fuso, Atago and Maya bombard Kendari and cause 1 airbase hit, 9 runway hits, 8 port hits, 3 port fuel hits and 5 port supply hits.
Air: Near Palembang 22 Sally bomb Zuid Garrison Battalion and cause 10 casualties.
Near Teloekbetoeng 3 Martin 139 locate a transport task force and put 1 bomb into AP Tsuyama Maru.
Near Kendari 3 Martin 139 locate a task force and for the loss of 1 bomber to the CAP of 13 Zero Atago is hit by 1 bomb.

South East Pacific
Sea: During the continuing landing of troops PG Toyotsu Maru sustains 2 shell hits from the shore batteries.
Land: At Port Moresby Japanese bombardment attack causes 2 Japanese casualties and 1 gun lost against 34 Allied casualties and 3 guns lost. The return fire from the Allied bombardment causes 23 Japanese casualties.

Subs
No action reported.

Naval Losses for the Day
Nil

Comments
Troops continue to pour ashore at Port Moresby in preparation for the coming battle.

[flaggelant]

how is(/was) the weather around PM?
 
sounds like the airforce has a rough time over there even with minimal opposition
 
and as a note to burma;
have you noticed any of the Chinese units crossing the trails? or were they used in China itself?
(since they start under british HQ, or something similar, they are free to move anywhere they want)

[SierraJuliet]

I must admit that keeping up with the weather forecast is another aspect of the game I have to learn to incorporate into my planning strategy. The weather may have something to do with the results (current forecast for the area at the beginning of May is overcast) although I have been putting the results down to good pilots in those Kittyhawks (few in number that they have been).

As for the Chinese tocaff appears to have sent some Chinese units towards Burma but not too many. At the beginning of May there are a reported 7 units just outside Myitkyina. Chungking has a reported 18 with another 19 units reported at Kweiyang. With the capture of Ichang I have been in something of a rut trying to work out my best cause of action in China particlarly as tocaff seems content on letting me do the running in this theatre.

[SierraJuliet]

17 April 1942

China
Air: West of Hanoi 14 Sally bomb 50th Chinese Corps and cause 7 casualties.

DEI
Ground: At Kendari Japanese shock attack achieves assault odds of 234 to 1 (fort level 2) and the base is captured. Japanese loses reported as 19 casualties and 1 gun lost to 135 Allied casualties and 1 gun lost. The defeated Allied units retreat.
Air: Near Telokbetoeng 19 Sally cause 23 casualties to Zuid Garrison Battalion.
Zeros return to the skies of Imphal. Today 36 Zeros take on a CAP of 5 Hurricane II. All 5 are reported as destroyed.

South East Pacific
Air: At Port Moresby 18 Betty bomb 4th Dutch Regiment and cause 19 casualties for the loss of 1 bomber. In a second attack 15 Nell cause 9 casualties and 1 gun lost on the same unit.
Ground: Japanese bombardment attack at Port Moresby results in 6 Japanese casualties and 4 guns lost to 116 Allied casualties and 5 guns lost.

Subs
No action reported.

Naval Losses for the Day
Nil

Comments
WO Miyano, Z of F1/3rd Daitai operating out of Mandalay makes ace status and is currently credited with 6 kills.